
Class I >6 ^J 
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OF 



EVENTS IN NORFOLK COUNTY, VIRGINIA, FROM APRIL 19th, 1861, 

TO MA Y 10th, 1862, WITH A HISTORY OF THE SOLDIERS 

AND SAILORS OF NORFOLK COUNTY, NORFOLK CITY 

AND PORTSMOUTH WHO SERVED IN THE 

CONFEDERA TE ST A TES ARMY OR NA VY. 



BY 

JOHN W. II. POSTER, 

A COMRADE OF STONEWALL CAMP, CONFEDERATE VETERANS, 
OF PORTSMOUTH, VA. 



PORTSMOUTH, VA.: 
W. A. FISKE, PRINTER AND BOOKBINDER, 

1892. 



Q Q 8, 



TO 

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL WM. H. STEWART, FORMERLY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, BUT NOW A 
CITIZEN OF PORTSMOUTH, WHO SERVED FAITHFULLY THROUGH THE WAR FROM THE 
BEGINNING TO THE END, AS LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN, MAJOR AND LIEUTENANT- 
COLONEL, AND TO WHOSE ASSISTANCB IS DUE THE COLLECTION OF MANY INTERES- 
TING FACTS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME ; TO STONEWALL CAMP, CONFEDER- 
ATE VETERANS, OF PORTSMOUTH, AT WHOSE SUGGESTION THIS WORK WAS 
BEGUN ; TO PICKETT-BUCHANAN CAMP, OF NORFOLK, WHICH IS PER- 
FORMING A GOOD TASK IN RELIEVING THE NECESSITIES OF MANY 
OLD COMRADES IN THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, AND TO 
THE THIRTY-FOUR HUNDRED MEN OF NORFOLK COUNTY, 
NORFOLK CITY AND PORTSMOUTH, WHO BID ADIEU TO 
TnEIR HOMES AND KINDRED ON THE 10TH OF MAY, 
1Sf"i2, AND MARCHED FORTH UNDER THE BAN- 
NERS OF THE SOUTH, 

THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
BY 

Thb Author, 



PREFACE. 



Stonewall Camp, Confederate Veterans, of Portsmouth, being 
desirous of preserving the names of the Confederate soldiers and 
sailors of this county,- appointed various historical committees ; but 
slow progress was made, and each succeeding year rendered the task 
more difficult of accomplishment. Having been an eye-witness 
of some of the scenes herein related, and having become pos- 
sessed of many authentic records and personal reminiscences, I 
have, by request, undertaken the work. I have collected the 
names of more than thirty-three hundred men who marched 
under the Southern flag, from their homes in Norfolk county on 
that memorable 10th of May, 1862, and have followed them 
through the smoke of battle, in the hospitals, and sometimes 
through prison walls, recording when and where they were 
wounded, or when and where they died. In a work of this char- 
acter, the first which ever sought to tell the history of the private 
soldier in the ranks as well as the doings of the officer in com- 
mand, and which must depend largely upon recollection, much of 
necessity, will be left out which should be made to appear ; for 
memory, after a lapse of more than a quarter of a century, will 
sometimes fail to recall events just as they happened, and com- 
rades who were associated with us then have passed out of mind, 
but much has been rescued from oblivion. The mistakes are 
more those of omission than of commission. I have not succeeded 
in getting the names of the Portsmouth men iu the Navy Yard 
in Richmond who, like the Jews at the rebuilding of King Solo- 
mon's Temple, worked with their tools while their swords were 
by their sides ready to be taken up at a moment's notice. Those 
men were in the trenches around Richmond almost as much as 
they were employed in their workshops, and their names should 
appear in this book, but nearly all of the Confederate Navy De- 
partment records appear to have been destroyed. Most of the 
men were advanced in years and have "passed beyond the river." 



I have ascertained and published the names of 1,018 men from 
Norfolk county, of whom 280 were killed or died during the war, 
1,119 who enlisted in Norfolk city companies, of whom 176 were 
killed or died, and 1,242 from Portsmouth, of whom 199 were 
killed or died, making a total of 3,379 men, of whom 655 gave 
up their lives for the cause in which they enlisted, and hundreds 
of others were disabled from wounds. A number of Norfolk county 
men were in the Princess Anne Cavalry and in Company F, 3d 
Virginia Regiment, which was recruited principally in Nanse- 
mond county, and these will more than offset the Nansemond men 
in Company I, 9th Virginia Infantry. Tracing up these facts has 
required months of patient research and inquiry. If I have not 
given each man as extended a record as he deserves I hope he 
will consider the number of names in the book and the limitless 
bounds it would occupy if not condensed. 

J. W. H. P. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter. 

I. Tbe first year of the war in Portsmouth, 
II. The Portsmouth Light Artillery. 

III. Tlie Dismal Swamp Rangers, Co. A, 3d Va., 

IV. The Virginia Riflemen, Co. B, 3d Va., 
V. The National Grays, Co. II, 3d Va,, 

VI. The Third Virginia Regiment, 

VII. Capt. Jno. II. Myers' Company, Co. E, 6th Va., 
VIII. The Virginia Artillery, Co. D, 9th Va., 

IX. The Portsmouth Rifles, Co. G, 9th Va., 
X. The Crauey Island Artillery, Co. I, 9th Va., 

XL The Old Dominion Guard, Co. K, 9th Va., 
XII. The Ninth Virginia Regiment, . . . . 

XIII. The Virginia Defenders, Co. C, 16th Va., 

XIV. The St. Bride's Artillery, Co. 1, 38th Va., 

XV. The Norfolk County Rifle Patriots, Co. F, 41st 
XVI. The Jackson Grays, Co. A, 61st V., 
XVII. The Wilson Guard, Co. B, 61 st Va., 
XVIII. The Blanchard Grays. Co. C, 61st Va,, 
XIX. The Jackson Light Infantry, Co. D, 61st Va., 
XX. The Border Rifles, Co. E, 61st Va., 
XXI. The Virginia Rangers, Co. H, 61st Va., 
XXII. The Bilisoly Blues, Co. I, 61st Va., 

XXIII. Company K, 61st Va., Co. K. 61st Va., 

XXIV. The Sixty-First Virginia Regiment, 
XXV. In Outside Commands, .... 

XXVI. The St. Bride's Cavalry, Co. F, 15th Va. Cavalr 

XXVII. Field and Staff 

XXVIII. The Wise Light Dragoons, .... 
XXIV. In the Navy— Portsmouth, . 
XXX. Operations Around Norfolk. 1861-2, 
XXXI. Norfolk Light Artillery Blues, . . 
XXXII. Norfolk Light Artillery, (Huger's Battery), 

XXXIII. Company A, 6th Virginia Regiment, 

XXXIV. Vvoodis Riflemen, Co. C, 6th Va., 
XXXV. The Norfolk Light Infantry, Co.,1), 6th Va,, 

XXXVI. Company F, Co. G, 6th Va 

XXXVII. The Independent Grays, Co. H, 6th Va,, 
XXXVIII. The Sixth Virginia Regiment, .... 
XXXIX. The Norfolk Juniors, Co. H, 12th Va., 

XL. The Atlantic Artillery, .... 

XLI. The United Artillery, 

XLII. Young's Harbor Guard, 

XLIII. The Signal Corps, 

XLIV. Field and Staff, 

XLV. In the Navy— Norfolk, .... 

XLVI. In Other Commands, 

XLVII. The First Iron-clad, the Virginia, 
XL VIII. The Battle in Hampton Roads, ... 



Page, 
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. 147 

. 151 

. 154 

. 157 

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. 206 

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. 228 

. 247 

. 255 

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. 266 

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. 276 

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ERRATA. 



Page 42, line 20, for July 14th read July 1st. 

55, " 5, for 1884-5 read 1864-5. 

55, " 49, for Five Forks read Appomattox. 

74, " 37, for June, 1862, read June, 1863. 

83, " 1, for Barton read Barton. 
127, " 29, for Company G read Company C. 
129, " 47, for September 30th read September 14th. 
139, head line, for 61st Virginia read 41st. 
175, line 38, for 1892 read 1862. 

190, " 24, for Maj. J. T. Woodhouse, read Lieut. Col. 

E. O. Whitehead. 
207, " 47, for Israel Eason read Isaac. 
249, " 12, for Petersburg read Fredericksburg. 
289, " 46, for May 19th-21st, '62, read '61. 
348, " 8, for 1S61 read 1862. 
In Thos. Scott's Advertisement add Undertaking. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 

Thirty-one years have gone by since the beginning of the strug- 
gle between the States which, raging for four years, reached 
nearly every portion of the South, from the Potomac to the Rio 
Grande, and left in its devastating track blazing homes and wasted 
fields. In no previous war in the history of the world's battles 
was there a greater display of bravery and fortitude than the 
people of the Southern States put forth in defence of those prin- 
ciples of self government which had been instilled in them from 
the foundation of the American Union, and no braver men served 
under the banners of the Southern Confederacy than those whom 
the City of Norfolk, the City of Portsmouth and County of 
Norfolk sent to the front when the Governor of Virginia issued 
his call for volunteers. They were brave men and courageous 
soldiers, fighting most of the time in defence of the homes and 
families of others, while their own homes and families were in 
the possession of the enemy, but, in the many struggles of that 
long and weary war, in the heroic charge of Pickett's Division at 
Gettysburg, in the determined rush of Mahone's Brigade at the 
" Crater," proving their devotion to Virginia and theinetal that 
was in them. 

Many of them fell upon the field of battle, or died from dis- 
eases contracted from exposure in the line of duty, and many re- 
turned home with a leg or an arm gone or with bones broken, 
and disabled, while those who survived the ordeal of battle and 
exposure are rapidly passing aw r ay. 

The twenty-seven years since the last gun was tired and the last 
soldier of the South laid down his arms, have witnessed the funeral 
of many a survivor of " the Lost Cause," and while there are still 
enough left to tell the tale, and before memory becomes dimmed 
by age, it is proper that the names and deeds of those who, had 
success crowned their bravery and devotion, would have lived in 
history and in song as heroes and patriots should be collected and 
preserved. 

The record of the men who marched from this county is one to 
which future generations of their children may recur with pride. 
From the General at the head of his brigade to the humblest sol- 
dier in the ranks, " Fame crowned their brows with an amaranthine 
wreath that will never fade," and the object of this modest volume 
is to collect and preserve this record. 

The city of Portsmouth sent more men to the Confederate 
cause than there were voters in the city, and it has been said by 

% 9 



10 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5, 

one who lias given the subject sufficient study to speak advisedly, 
that there was not an important battle fought east of the Missis- 
sippi river during the entire war in which there was not present 
a soldier from Portsmouth. At this late day memory cannot 
recall the names of' all those brave men who, upon distant battle 
lields, so gallantly upheld the name and fame of the little city 
which gave them birth and sent them forth at the call of duty, 
hence many of them will necessarily be omitted from its pages; 
passed from memory as the years roll by ! 

I leave to the general historian the task of tracing out the 
progress of campaigns and describing the manoeuvres, the charges 
and the struggles when armies met in deadly combat, and will 
endeavor to tell, as well as I can, the part which Norfolk, Ports- 
mouth and the county of Norfolk took in that great war. The 
history of one is the history of the other, for their companies 
stood shoulder to shoulder in the same regiments, marched to the 
tap of the same drunn, sat by the same camp fires and fell upon 
the same battle helds. 

In the year 1S61 Portsmouth, the county seat of Norfolk 
county, was a city of about nine thousand inhabitants, of whom 
less than six thousand v T ere white persons. Norfolk county, ex- 
clusive of the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, contained a pop- 
ulation of about twelve thousand, of whom about seven thousand 
were white persons. The Gosport navy yard, the most important 
of the United States Naval Stations, was located at the southern 
extremity of the city, and, on account of the large amount of 
work done there by the Government, usually gave employment to 
from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred mechanics and laborers. 
The city was prosperous and contented, and when the question of 
seceding from the Federal Union came before the people on the 
4th of February, 1861, in the form of an election for delegates to 
the State Convention, Portsmouth and Norfolk county, which 
together were entitled to two delegates, elected Dr. William 
White and Mr. James G. Holladay upon what was known as the 
Union ticket, by a large majority over Messrs. James Murdaugh 
and Samuel M. Wilson, who ran upon what was known as the 
Secession ticket. The Union sentiment predominated largely in 
the State Convention also, but, unfortunately, the sentiment of 
the men who controlled the North was in favor of forcing rather 
than persuading back into the Union the States which had already 
seceded, and, in obedience to that sentiment, President Lincoln 
issued his call for 75,000 troops, assigning to Yi r &'i n i a ner Pro- 
portionate share. Then it became evident that Virginia w T ould 
not be permitted to hold a neutral position but would be com- 
pelled to fight with or against the other Southern States, and the 
convention underwent a change of opinion. It was held that it 
would be better to stand or fall with those States than to take up 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 11 

arms against them, and men who were elected as Union delegates 
voted to submit to the people, for ratification or rejection, the 
Ordinance of Secession. This resolution was passed April 17th, 
1 86 1 , and was f,o be submitted to a vote of the people on the fourth 
Thursday in May following, but the State was virtually out of the 
Union from the day the convention adopted the ordinance. 

It will not avail anything to discuss the right of a State to se- 
cede from the Federal Union, for, whether the right existed or 
not, under the Constitution, it has been stamped out under the 
feet of more than a million of soldiers, but six years after that 
date the Congress of the United States, which denied the right of 
the States to go out of the Union of their own accord, claimed 
for itself the right and authority to put them out, and the South- 
ern. States became territories, under military governors, and, after 
going through a course of reconstruction prescribed by act of 
Congress, w r ere readmitted into the Union as States, with their 
constitutions radically altered to suit the views of the majority in 
Congress. As a prerequisite to their readinission into the Union, 
they were required to vote to ratify certain amendments to the 
Constitution of the United States; hence those amendments were 
adopted and locame the law of the land by the aid of the votes 
of States which were out of the Union, by act of Congress, and 
under military government. But this discussion is foreign to the 
object for which this work is being written. Virginia, by virtue 
of a reservation in the resolution by which her Legislature ratified 
the Constitution of the United States and consented to become a 
State in the Federal Union, always claimed the right to withdraw 
therefrom. In that resolution she said : 

".The powers granted under the Constitution, being derived 
from the people of the United States, may be resumed by them 
whensoever the same may be perverted to their injury or oppres- 
sion." 

And the State Convention, believing the time had arrived 
when the powers conferred upon the General Government wrere 
being perverted to the injury of the people of Virginia, and that 
the State had the legal and constitutional right to do so, decided 
to withdraw from that compact. 

The State Convention passed the ordinance of secession on the 
17th of April, 1861, but it was not made public immediately. On 
the night of the 18th General William B. Taliaferro arrived in 
Norfolk with authority from Governor Letcher to take command 
of the Virginia forces in that city, and on the same day Lieuten- 
ants Robert B. Pegram and Catesby Ap. B,. Jones, who had re- 
signed from the Lnited States Navy, were appointed by the 
Governor captains in the Virginia Navy, with orders to take 
command of the naval station and organize naval defences. 

General Taliaferro was accompanied by Major Nathaniel Tyler 



12 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

and Captain Henry Heth as his staff, and the Virginia military 
forces m the vicinity consisted of the Norfolk Juniors, Indepen- 
dent Grays, Woodis Rifles, Company F, and the Light Artillery 
P>lues of Norfolk City; the Portsmouth Rifles, Old Dominion 
Guard, National Grays, Marion Rifles and Portsmouth Light 
Artillery, of Portsmouth, and the Dismal Swamp Rangers, of 
Deep Creek, and the Rifle Patriots, of Great Bridge, Norfolk 
county, the twelve companies numbering probably eight hundred 
and fifty men, but without any ammunition. The two artillery 
cut 1 1 panics had each four light guns. The naval forces at the 
disposal of Captain Pegram consisted of absolutely nothing. 
There was also in Norfolk comity a small cavalry company, the 
Wise Light Dragoons. 

The Navy Yard was under the command of Commodore Mc- 
Cauley, who, under the very peculiar circumstances Avhich sur- 
rounded him, was uncertain how to act, and the Navy Depart- 
ment at Washington left him without instructions. He had re- 
ceived orders on the 16th from the Department to immediately 
fit out the Merrimac. to put her guns on her without loss of time 
(they had been taken ashore), and to send her, with the other 
vessels capable of being moved, together with the ordnance, 
stores, &c, beyond the reach of seizure. 

Commodore McCauley construed the order to mean a desire on 
the part of the Navy Department to abandon the station, and did 
not feel authorized to disobey the order to the extent of bringing 
on hostilities by maintaining possession of the Navy Yard and 
firing upon the "City of Portsmouth, more especially as the United 
States Government had made no hostile demonstration against 
the. State of Virginia. 

There were at the Navy Yard at that time, the sloop-of-war 
Cumberland, 22 guns, in commission, with a full complement of 
officers and men on board; the sloops-of-war Plymouth, 22 guns, 
and Germantown, 22 guns, and the brig Dolphin, 6 guns, almost 
ready for sea; the steam frigate Merrimac, 10 guns, almost ready 
for sea and undergoing repairs; the line of battle ship Pennsyl- 
vania, 120 guns, in commission as a receiving ship, with a consider- 
able crew on board, and the 71-gun ships Delaware and Columbus, 
and the frigates Raritan, Columbia and United States, dismantled 
and in ordinary. The force of sailors and marines on the various 
vessels and at the Navy Yard was probably about 600, well armed 
and abundantly supplied with ammunition. The Plymouth, Ger- 
mantown, Dolphin and Merrimac were lying alongside the wharves 
and men were working on them. The Delaware and Columbus 
were at a wharf at the southern end of the yard, and might have 
been considered as in " Rotten Row," a term applied to vessels 
for which the Government no longer has any use. 

Commodore McCauley might have held the Navy Yard for a 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 13 

considerable. time against any forces at the disposal of the State of 
Virginia. The Cumberland and Pennsylvania could have swept 
it with their guns, and he has been considerably censured for not 
doing so, but there was another side to the question. The Penn- 
sylvania might have been considered as stationary. She was sup- 
posed to have been fast in the mud, and could easily have been 
enfiladed by batteries on shore, in such a position that her broad- 
side could not be brought to bear on them, and furthermore, it 
would have been possible, shut up in a close harbor as those two 
vessels were, to have captured them by a determined attack by 
boarders at night, just as General Magruder, later in the war, 
captured the steamer Harriet Lane in G-alveston harbor. By the 
erection of batteries on the St. Helena side of the river, opposite 
the Navy Yard, the Cumberland could have been driven away or 
destroyed. She would have been compelled to have relied upon 
her sails for motive power. It is true the State of Virginia had 
nothing heavier than twelve-pounder howitzers with which to 
man those batteries, but Commodore McCauley was not familiar 
with the resources of the State, and therefore, in the light of the 
last orders he had received from Washington, determined to leave 
with what he could take with him and destroy the remainder. 
His determination was quickened by reports which reached him 
that the Virginia forces were sinking obstructions in the river 
below Fort Norfolk and erecting batteries. He was deceived also 
by the continued moving of trains on the Norfolk and Petersburg 
Railroad within hearing of the Navy Yard, and thought they 
were bringing troops to Norfolk. Tins was done by General 
Mahone, who was then president of the railroad company, for the 
purpose of creating just such an impression. 

The work of destruction began a little before noon on the 20th, 
and the frigate Merrimac was the first object of the destroyers. 
Carpenters and machinists were at work on her at the time. The 
carpenter of the Cumberland, with a small squad of sailors to 
assist him, opened her bilge cocks and she tilled with water and 
settled quietly until she rested on the bottom. Owing to her 
great draft of water she did not settle far. 

After the 12 o'clock bell was rung for the workmen to knock 
off for dinner, the gates of the Navy Yard were closed, and no 
one was permitted to enter without the approval of the Commo- 
dore. The work of destruction then proceeded very. rapidly. The 
standing rigging of the Germantown was cut away and the guys 
which held the heavy masting shears were cut in two, so that the 
shears fell across her and she was broken and sunk. The Ply- 
mouth and Dolphin also were scuttled, as were also the 74-gun 
ships Delaware and Columbus, but on account of their great 
depth they were not submerged. 

During the afternoon it became ^enerallv known in Portsmouth 



14 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

that the vessels and stores in the Navy Yard were being destroyed 
and a rumor became prevalent that it was the intention of Com- 
modore McCauley to set the buildings on fire. This, it was feared, 
would cause serious damage in the city, as it was separated from 
the yard only by the width of Lincoln street, which was but sixty 
feet wide, and a meeting of citizens was held, at which Messrs. 
Samuel Watts, James Murdaugh and William II. Peters were 
appointed a committee to wait upon Commodore McCauley to 
endeavor to persuade him to reconsider that purpose, if he really 
entertained if, but the Commodore refused to see them and they 
were denied admission into the yard. 

About dusk the sloop-of-war Pawnee, under Captain Paulding, 
steamed up to the Navy Yard, and her crew were added to the 
wrecking force. It is said the torch was applied by the orders of 
Captain Paulding. The long building on the north front of the 
yard, facing Lincoln street, and in which was th.e main entrance, 
was set on fire and totally destroyed. This building, among other 
things, contained the armory of the yard, and its hundreds of 
rifles, carbines, pistols, cutlasses, and other ordnance stores, besides 
ropes, canvas, &c. The two large ship houses, A and B, were 
also fired. Ship house A had in it, on the stocks, the 74-gun ship 
New r York, completely framed, with her deck beams, carlines and 
knees completed, and partially planked, inside and out, and her 
decks partially laid. 

The fire from the ship houses communicated to the Merriwiac, 
Plymouth, Germantown and Dolphin, and all of them that was 
above the water was consumed. The Pennsylvania, Raritan and 
Columbia, which were anchored out in the stream, shared the fate 
of the ship houses. They were set on fire and burned almost 
down to their keels. Several buildings, containing stores of va- 
rious kinds, were fired and, together with their valuable contents, 
totally destroyed. 

Aii effort was made to destroy the usefulness of the heavy 
cannon, hundreds of which were in the yard, by breaking off their 
trunions with mauls, but this was successful in only a few in- 
stances. There was a large quantity of liquor in the spirit room 
in the naval store house, and the sailors, getting possession of this 
liquor, filled themselves so full of it that they were unable to keep 
up the work of destruction. They spiked a number of the cannon 
with nails, but these were easily gotten out subsequently by the 
Confederates. 

History says an attempt was made to blow up the large stone 
dry dock but that it was discovered by the Confederates in time 
to prevent its successful accomplishment, but history is at fault in 
this instance, as in many others. The true reason why the dock 
was not blown up has never before been published, and the proof 
of it seems conclusive. On the morning of the 21st, about day- 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 15 

break, detachments from the Portsmouth military companies 
which had been under arms all night, marched into the Navy 
Yard and took possession of it, and Privates David A. Williams, 
of the Old Dominion Guard, and Joseph F. Weaver, of the 
Portsmouth Rifle Company, attracted by curiosity, strolled down 
to the dry dock, and, looking down into it, noticed a train of 
loose powder, leading down to the culvert at the northeast corner. 
Mr. Williams immediately ran down into the dock and broke the 
connection by kicking one of the planks down. They then limited 
for the fuse or slow match, but did not succeed in finding it, and 
concluded that after the train was laid the orders to blow it up 
had been countermanded, or that there had been some other hitch 
in the proceedings. S< >oh afterwards the wicket gate was opened by 
the Confederates and the water turned into the dock. This 
caused about thirty barrels of powder to float out of the culvert. 

The cause of the failure to ignite the train of powder remained 
a mystery until the following February, when it was discovered 
by a singular coincidence. Mr. Weaver had, in the meantime, 
been appointed a carpenter in the Confederate States Navy, and 
was attached to the steamer Seabird in the fight at Roanoke 
Island February 7th, 1862, between the small fleet of small steam- 
ers under Commodore Lynch, and the greatly superior force of 
United States vessels. The Island fell into the hands of the Fed- 
erals on the 8th, and Commodore Lynch's fleet, having fired away 
all #f its ammunition, fell back to Elizabeth City for a new sup- 
ply, but did not succeed in obtaining any. On the 9th the Fed- 
eral fleet arrived before Elizabeth City, and the tugs Raleigh and 
Beaufort escaped though the Dismal Swamp Canal, but the Sea- 
bird and Fanny were too wide to get through the locks. The 
Seabird was sunk by a 9-inch Columbiad and her crew were cap- 
tured. 

While a prisoner on board a Federal gunboat Mr. Weaver 
formed the acquaintance of a master's mate, with whose mess he 
obtained his meals, and the mate, finding out that he was from 
Portsmouth, told him about the attempt to blow up the dry clock 
at the Navy Yard. He said he had charge of a party of sailors, 
with orders to destroy it; that he put the powder in, and he de- 
scribed to Mr. Weaver the arrangement of the planks to hold the 
train, just as Mr. Weaver had seen it on the morning of the 21st 
of April ; that after the powder had been placed in the culvert 
and the train was laid to it, he sent the sailors to their boat, 
lighted the fuse, and then, instead of placing it where it would 
ignite the powder, threw it overboard. He gave as a reason for 
doing so, that lie had a number of friends living in Portsmouth 
near the Navy Yard, who had been very kind to him ; that the 
quantity of powder with which the dock was mined was sufficient 
to have blown some of the stone beyond the Navy Y r ard wall, 



V 



16 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

and, in falling, it might have crushed in some of the houses and 
killed some of the women and children in the city, and he did not 
care to be the instrument to take their lives. He said he lighted 
the match so that he would be able to report that he had done so, 
and he had no apprehension that any of the officers or men would 
go back to the dock to see if it was burning. 

His account tallies exactly with what Mr. Williams and Mr. 
Weaver saw when they went to the dock that morning, and as 
they were the first to go there, there is no reason to doubt its cor- 
rectness. He could not have so accurately described the situation 
unless he had seen it. One plank extended from the gate chain 
to the side of the dock, and from the middle of this plank another 
plank extended into the culvert, thus forming the letter T, and 
the train was laid along those two planks. It will be remembered 
that Messrs. Weaver and Williams searched carefully for the 
fuse, but did not succeed in finding it, nor was it subsequently 
found. Had it been lighted and gone out of its own accord, the 
remains would have been found there. The failure to destroy 
the dock was due, therefore, to the humanity of the man who was 
ordered to do the work, and not to the sagacity of the Confeder- 
ate officials. At this writing, May 27th, 1892, Messrs. Williams 
and Weaver are both living in Portsmouth. Mr. Williams is in 
the employment of the Seaboard and Roanoke Kail road Company 
as section master, and Mr. Weaver is keeping a drug store on 
South street. 

But, to return to the Navy Yard and its destruction. The old 
frigate United States, around which clustered so many memories 
of brave deeds and gallant victories, was the only vessel which 
was spared in the general devastation, and that night of the 20th 
of April was a night of anxiety in Portsmouth The immense 
ship houses, Math their millions of feet of timber, were seathing 
volcanos of flames, and the huge ship Pennsylvania was a pyra- 
mid of fire, while the burning Merrimac, Dolphin, Germantown, 
Plymouth, Raritan and Columbia and the large store houses 
added to the conflagration and lighted up the heavens with a lurid 
glare that was seen for thirty miles. To add to the dangers of 
the night the dwelling houses on the north side of Lincoln street 
in Portsmouth caught fire, and the whole city was threatened with 
destruction, which was only averted by a change of the direction 
of the wind. Occasionally one of the guns of the Pennsylvania, 
which had been left loaded by her crew, would be discharged as 
it became hot enough from the fire to ignite the powder, but, for- 
tunately, no one was hurt by them, and amid all of this crackling 
of flames, booming of guns and deluge of falling sparks, the cry 
arose that the Pawnee was about to bombard the city. 

A correspondence had taken place between General Taliaferro 
and Commodore McCauley in which the General proposed to the 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 17 

Commodore that if he put a stop to the work of destruction the 
Pawnee and Cumberland would be permitted to leave the Navy 
Yard and the port in safety. He had no means to prevent them 
from leaving, and in fact was very anxious to have them go, but 
Commodore McCauley was not aware of that and accepted the 
proposal. Accordingly, about midnight the Pawnee left the } T ard 
with the Cumberland in tow. Captain Paulding returned an 
answer to General Taliaferro threatening severe retaliation in case 
tliey were molested. This was construed to mean the bombard- 
ment of the two cities, and probably gave rise to the rumor which 
was prevalent in Portsmouth. 

During "the reign of terror" which existed in the city on the 
20th, an order was received from the Governor calling out the 
military companies of Portsmouth and Norfolk county. They 
assembled about 2 o'clock in the afternoon of that day, and were 
in continual service from then until the surrender of General 
Lee's army at Appomattox Court House on the 9th of April, 1865. 
Those companies composed the Third Virginia Volunteers, and 
were as follows: 

Portsmouth Rifle Company, Captain John C. Owens ; 

Old Dominion Guard, Captain Edward Kearns; 

The National Grays, Captain John E. Deans; 

The Marion Rifles, Captain Johannis Watson; 

The Dismal Swamp Rangers, Captain James C. Choat of Deep 
Creek, Norfolk county; and, 

The Portsmouth Light Artillery, Captain Cary F. Grimes, 
four guns. 

The Union Guard, a company composed exclusively of our 
Irish- American citizens, was formerly in the Third Regiment, but 
was disbanded about a year before the war broke out from lack 
of interest among its members. 

The Regiment was under command of the following field and 
staff officers : 

Colonel, James G. Hodges ; Lieutenant Colonel, David J. God- 
win ; Major, William C. Wingfield ; Adjutant, John W. II. 
Wrenn ; Commissary, C. W. Murdaugh ; Quartermaster, John 
Hobday; Surgeon, H. E. Butt; Assistant Surgeon, V. B. Bilisoly. 

On the night of the 20th the men slept on their arms in the 
Court House and City Hall, and at day break on the 21st one-half 
were sent to the Navy Yard and the other to the Naval Hospital 
point to assist in building an earthwork. After the Military en- 
tered the yard Lieutenant C. E. M. Spotwood of the Virginia 
Navy went in, and, hoisting a State flag upon the flag staff, took 
formal possession in the name of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 
and Captain Robert B. Pegram assumed command. He was re- 
lieved on the 22d by Commodore French Forrest, who arrived 
under orders from Governor Letcher. Captain Pegram was sub- 



18 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

sequently ordered to the command of the post at Pig Point, at 
the month of the Nansemond river, and had command of the 
battery there on the 5th of June, when the United States steamer 
Harriett Lane was driven off by the Portsmouth Pine Company. 
Later in the day of the 21st the military, with the exception of 
the National Grays, were marched from the Navy Yard to the 
Naval Hospital Point, and the Regiment became re-united. A 
very strong earthwork was thrown up there and manned with 
guns from the Navy Yard. Obstructions were placed in the 
harbor so as to narrow the channel, and guns were mounted at 
Fort Norfolk, so that it would have been difficult if not impos- 
sible for the Pawnee and Cumberland to have returned, had they 
desired to do so. On the 21st the Norfolk County Rifle Patriots 
took possession of the Government ordnance depot at St. Helena, 
opposite the Navy Yard. The officers of the Third Regiment 
had hardly gotten warmed in their quarters when Governor 
Letcher, in pursuance of the policy of placing in command of the 
volunteer troops, field officers with whom they had not been fa- 
miliarly associated before they w r ere mustered into service, re- 
moved Colonel Hodges, Lieutenant Colonel Godwin and Major 
Wingfield from their commands and appointed in their stead 
Colonel Roger A. Pryor, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Mayo, Jr., 
and Major Joseph V. Scott, whereupon the staff officers of the 

Reoiment tendered their resignations and entered the service in 

i • • 

< >ther positions. 

Colonel Hodges and Lieutenant Colonel Godwin were assigned 
to the Fourteenth Virginia Regiment, Major Wingfield became 
Major and Commissary of Mahone's Brigade and afterwards of 
the Division, Doctors Butt and Bilisoly were appointed Surgeons, 
and Messrs. Murdaugh and Hobday were elected Lieutenants in 
the Bilisoly Blues, afterwards Company I, Sixty-first Virginia, a 
company which w T as shortly afterwards organized. Adjutant 
Wrenn was elected Captain of the Virginia Rifles of Portsmouth. 

After remaining at the Hospital Point about a week or ten 
days the Portsmouth Rifle Company was detached from the Third 
Regiment and ordered to Pig Point and the Old Dominion Guard 
was detached and ordered to Pinner's Point to take charge of 
fortifications, and in June w T ere organized with the Ninth Virginia 
Regiment as Companies G and K, respectively. 

After the State seceded from the Union and hostilities had 
actually commenced the military fever ran high in the city and 
county, notwithstanding their strong Union sentiments. Their 
love for Virginia was stronger than their love for the Union. 
They believed in the opinions which were held by the men who 
founded the American Government, the fathers' of the Revolu- 
tion, that their allegiance was due, first to their State and after- 
wards to the General Government, and that it was due to the 



THE FIRST' YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 19 

General Government only so long as the State was a part of it. 
New companies were organized rapidly. In the city these were : 

The Virginia Defenders, Captain Edward Blamire, afterwards 
Co. C, 16th Ya. Regiment, infantry. 

The Virginia Artillery, Captain James II. Richardson, after- 
wards Co. D, 9th Va. Infantry. 

Captain John II. Myers 1 Company, attached as Co. E to the 
Oth Va. Regiment. 

The Bilisoly Bines, afterwards changed to the Rebel Grays, 
Captain Charles R. McAlpine, Co. I, 61st Va. Infantry. 

The Jackson Artillery, Captain V. O. Cassell, which was at- 
tached to the 61st Va. Infantry as Co. D. 

The Bilisoly Blues contained a number of men from the Bow- 
ers' Hill section of Norfolk county. 

Thus there were mnstered into the Confederate service from 
the city of Portsmouth one company of light artillery and nine 
companies of infantry, distributed as follows : 

Two in the 3d Regiment, three in the 9th Regiment, one in the 
16th Regiment, one in the 6th Regiment, two in the 61st Regi- 
ment. 

The Virginia Rangers, Company II, 61st Regiment, was re- 
cruited partly from Portsmouth, though credited here to Norfolk 
county. All of its officers in active service were from the city. 

All of those companies were large, and five of them, viz., the 
Portsmouth Rifle Company, Old Dominion Guard, National 
Grays, Jackson Artillery and Portsmouth Light Artillery, num- 
bered over one hundred men each. 

In addition to those companies there were two or three hundred 
Portsmouth men scattered among other commands. One com- 
manded a North Carolina Brigade, four were field officers in 
North Carolina Regiments, one commanded an Alabama Regi- . 
ment, ten were Surgeons in the Army, between forty and fifty 
Avere officers in the Navy, they were in full numbers in the Nor- 
folk Light Artillery Blues, the Signal Corps and in the Navy, 
and every man who entered the service from this city was a vol- 
unteer. The city was evacuated by the Confederates before the 
conscript law was put into operation, and after it fell into the 
hands of the Federals, boys arriving at. a sufficient age to do mili- 
tary duty made their escape through the Federal lines and joined 
their fathers and older brothers in the Confederate Army. 

At the beginning of the war there were only two organized 
volunteer infantry companies in Norfolk county, one of which, 
the Dismal Swamp Rangers, Captain James C. Choat command- 
ing, was raised in the vicinity of Deep Creek and was attached to 
the Third Regiment, and the Norfolk County Rifle Patriots, 
Captain William H. Etheredge, was raised in the Great Bridge 
section, it afterwards became Company F, Forty-first Regiment. 



20 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

In the shifting of the companies composing the Third Regiment 
the Dismal Swamp Rangers became Company A. Like the men 
of Portsmouth, those of Norfolk comity were none the less Vir- 
ginians, though they had opposed the secession of the State, and 
when the tocsin of war was sounded, and the Governor called for 
volunteers to fight the battles of the Commonwealth, there was a 
general rush to arms, and young men and old ones responded to 
the call. The following companies were speedily organized and 
mustered into service and assigned to regiments in due course of 
time : 

The Craney Island Artillery, Captain John T. Kilby, Co. I, 
9th Va. Reg. 

The St. Bride's Artillery, Captain George A. Martin, Co. I, 
38th Va. Reg. 

The St. Bride's Cavalry, Captain John Doyle, Co. F, 15th Va. 
Cavalry. 

The Jackson Grays, Captain "William II. Stewart, Co. A, 61st 
Va. Re£. 

The Wilson Guard, Captain John W. M. Hopkins, Co. B, 61st 
Va. Reg. 

The Blanchard Grays, Captain John G. Wallace, Co. C, 61st 
Va. Reg. 

The Border Rifles, Captain Jetson Jett, Co. E, 6 1st Va. Reg. 

The Virginia Rangers, Captain James C. Choat, Co. H, 61st 
Va. Reg. 

— , Captain Max Herbert, Co. K, 61st Va. Re<*. 

Quite a number of Norfolk county men living near the Princess 
Anne county line joined the Princess Anne cavalry, Captain Bur- 
roughs, Co. I, 15th Va. Cavalry, while many in the Western 
Branch section joined the Nansemond cavalry, which was attached 
to the 13th Regiment. The Tanner's Creek section contributed a 
large number of men to the various companies which were raised 
in Norfolk city. Thus it will be seen that Norfolk county con- 
tributed fully eleven companies to the Confederate Army. Co. 
H, 61st Regiment, was recruited partly in Portsmouth, and Co. B, 
9th Va., was recruited partly in Norfolk county, in the vicinity 
of Craney Island. The eleven companies accredited to the county 
were thus distributed : 

One in the 3d Regiment Infantry, one in the 9th Regiment 
Infantry, one in the 38th Regiment Infantry, one in the 41st 
Regiment Infantry, six in the 61st Regiment Infantry, one in the 
15th Regiment Cavalry. 

On the 23d of May, 1861, a very unfortunate occurrence took 
place at the Naval Hospital battery, owing to the hasty and in- 
considerate action of Colonel Roger A. Pryor. The State Con- 
vention passed the Ordinance of Secession on the 17th of April 
and directed that it be submitted to a vote of the people on the 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 21 

23d of May for ratification or rejection. The people were the 
final court to decide the question, and if a majority of them cast 
their votes in favor of the ratification of the ordinance the State 
would secede from the Union, lint if the majority of votes should 
he the other way it would remain in the Union. The question 
for the people to decide was, therefore, whether or not the State 
should secede. 

As has already been said, the Union sentiment was very strong 
in Portsmouth. It permeated all classes of her citizens, and when 
the vote was taken most of the members of the Marion Rifle 
Company voted against the ratification of the ordinance. Colonel 
Pryor, who was an ultra Secessionist, became so enraged at them 
for exercising a privilege which *they had a perfect right to exer- 
cise, that he assembled the regiment, ordered the Marion Rifles to 
advance to the front and ground arms. He then made a bitter 
and. offensive speech to them and disbanded the company, charg- 
ing the men with disloyalty to Virginia. This action on his part 
was very uncalled for. Those men had acknowledged their alle- 
giance to Virginia as superior to their allegiance to the United 
States, and had responded to the call of Governor Letcher for 
troops, even while the State was still in the Union, but when 
called upon at the election to declare whether they were in favor 
of the State going out of the Union or remaining in it, they voted 
as they thought best for themselves and the Commonwealth. The 
company reorganized under the name of Virginia Riflemen and 
was continued in the 3d Regiment as Co. B, and the men made 
good records for themselves as soldiers. It was a member of this 
company, Sergeant Robert A. Hutchings of Portsmouth, who 
planted the colors of the 3rd Regiment on the stone wall at Get- 
tysburg when Pickett's Division made its famous and historic 
charge there. The company remained at the Hospital battery 
until June 7th, when they went to Burwell's Bay with the 3rd 
Regiment, but Colonel Pryor's ill advised and hasty action lost 
to Mie State the services of some of the old members, who would 
doubtless have made good soldiers, for the best soldiers were not 
necessarily those who had shouted loudest for Secession. 

Immediately upon the evacuation of the Navy Yard the Con- 
federates began pouring' troops into this section. Several compa- 
nies from Petersburg and the Richmond Grays were the first to 
arrive, and reached Norfolk on the 21st. Four companies from 
Georgia arrived in Portsmouth on the 22d. These were the Co- 
lumbus Light Guard, of Columbus, the Macon Volunteers and 
Floyd Rifles, of Macon, and the Spaulding Grays, of Griffin, and 
in a very short time there were gathered for the defence of the 
harbor the following organizations : 

The 3d, 6th, 9th, 12th, 41st and 61st Virginia Regiments. 

The 3d, 4th and 22d Georgia Regiments and the 2d Georgia 
Battalion, 



22 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

The 1st Louisiana Regiment and 3d Louisiana Battalion. 

The 3d Alabama Regiment. 

The 2d North Carol iii a Battalion, afterwards the 32d Regiment. 

The Portsmouth Light Artillery ; the Norfolk Light Artillery 
Blues, the United Artillery, the Atlantic Artillery and the linger 
Battery, of Norfolk, the Salem Artillery, and the Louisiana Guard 
Artillery. 

Burroughs' and Cooper's Calvary Companies 15th Virginia Cav- 
alry, arid two companies of cavalry from Nansemond county and 
one from Southampton county, in the 13th Virginia Cavalry 
Regiment. 

There was also a North Carolina battalion stationed near Suf- 
folk. Captain Martin's Company, of Norfolk county, and Cap- 
tain Young's, of Norfolk city, were also on duty near here. 

General Taliaferro was superseded in command by General W. 
Gwynn on the 23d of April, and he was relieved by General 
linger on the 24th of May, with headquarters in Norfolk. Gen- 
eral Blan chard commanded the troops on the Portsmouth side of 
the river. The Navy Yard was under the command of Commo- 
dore French Forrest, who had under him Captain and Executive 
Officer S. S. Lee; Captain A. B. Fairfax, ordnance officer ; Naval 
Constructor John L. Porter; and Chief Engineer William P. 
Williamson, all of whom had resigned from the United States 
Navy. 

Two days after the Navy Yard was burned by the United 
States forces Mr. William II. Peters, of Portsmouth, was ap- 
pointed by Governor Letcher Paymaster in the Virginia Navy 
and assigned to duty there. Mr. Peters took an inventory of the 
stock and material left in the yard, which he reported to the 
Governor, who transmitted it to the State Convention then in 
session. Mr. Peters' report states that there were in the yard 
when it fell into the hands of the Confederates 1,085 heavy can- 
non of six, eight, nine and ten-inch bore. These were ready for 
service, with carriages, breeching, blocks and tackle complete, arid 
their possession enabled the Confederates to prepare for defence 
against the attacks of their enemies. 

There were also on hand in the yard, as per said report, 250,- 
000 pounds of powder, a large number of ' shells, stands of grape 
shot, and various other ordnance equipment stores, valued at 
$341,000. Also bread, beef, pork, flour, and other provisions, 
valued at $38,763. Also clothing, flannel, shirting, round jackets, 
&c, valued at $56,269. Also general naval supplies, such as 
timber, anchors, chains, copper, &c, valued at $1,448,223. 

In a paper read before Stonewall Camp, Confederate Veterans, 
of Portsmouth, by Mr. Peters the latter part of 1891, he gave the 
localities to which cannon were shipped from the Navy Yard from 
April 21st to July 1st, 18*51; the date Virginia formally turned 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 23 

the Navy Yard over to the Confederate States Government. 
These were as follows. The six-inch guns were 32-pounders, and 
the seven-inch were 42s: 

To battery at Naval Hospital, 13 six-inch and 2 eight-inch gnns. 
" Craney Island. 12 six-inch, 10 eight-inch, 7 nine- 
inch and 1 ten-inch. 

To battery at Fort Norfolk, 8 nine-inch guns. 
" Boush's Bluff, 5 six-inch grins. 
" " Pinner's Point. 7 " 

" Pig Point. I'l six-inch and 2 eight inch guns. 
" Richmond, 90 six-inch. L2 seven-inch, 10 eight inch and 24 
nine-inch. 

To Charleston, -13 six-inch, 12 seven-inch and 3 old English 
cannon. 

To Fredericksburg, 4 six-inch. 
" Fort Powhatan. 6 six-inch. 

" Kempsville, 1 twelve-pounder and 2 nine-pounder brass guns. 
'• Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad Co.*, 1 twenty-seven pounder. 
" Savannah, 10 six-inch guns. 
" Pensacola, " " ' " 

" Captain Thomas, at Baltimore. 20 twenty -four pounders and 
*2" six-inch guns. 

To Memphis, 5 six-inch guns. 

" New Orleans. 13 six-inch. 8 eight-inch and 2 nine-inch guns. 
" Tennessee, 32 six-inch guns. 

" Lieutenant George T. Sinclair, for army South, 16 six-inch, 
9 seven-inch, S eight-inch and 1 nine-inch. 
To Norfolk city, 3 six-inch. 

" battery at Seawell's Point, S six-inch and 6 nine-inch guns. 
" " ' k - Lambert's Point, 6 " 
" " •• Burwell's Bay, 5 " 
« « « Pagan Creek'. 4 " 
" " " Powell's Point, 4 " 
" " " City Point. 6 " 

" General Gwynn and taken to North Carolina, 197 six-inch. 
1 seven-inch. 11 eight-inch, and 4 twenty-four pounder's. 

All of those guns which were sent to General Gwynn shortly 
afterward were captured by the enemy, owing to the want of wis- 
dom which prevailed in the management of affairs in Eastern 
North Carolina by the Confederate Government, coupled with 
the inefficiency and inexperience of some of the officers in imme- 
diate command. 

The Federal forces had scarcely evacuated the Xavy Yard be- 
fore the active A'irginia troops began erecting batteries at every 
available point in the harbor which would command the ap- 
proaches by river to the city. Guns were sent over to Fort Nor- 
folk from the Navy Yard and mounted there, and three heavy 



24 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

guns were placed in position at the Hospital Point on the morn- 
ing of the 21st behind a temporary breastwork of cotton bales 
to keep the Pawnee and Cumberland back while a substantial 
breastwork was being built. This w T as so far completed by the 
end of the week as to have twelve heavy guns in position, and the 
experience of the naval officers was brought into requisition in 
drilling the men at the guns. 

While the battery at the Naval Hospital was being constructed 
formidable works were going up at Pinner's Point under the su- 
pervision of Major F. W. J.ett, of the engineers, Fort Norfolk, 
Boush's Bluff, Lambert's Point, Craney Island and Seawell's 
Point, so that, in less than ten days, the Confederates w T ere able 
to bring about seventy-five or eighty gnus to bear upon a vessel 
attempting to enter the harbor, and a fleet of wooden vessels 
could scarcely have run the gauntlet. These batteries were sub- 
sequently strengthened by the addition of rifled cannon, the 
heaviest fortifications being on Craney Island and Seawell's Point. 
The fortifications at Pinner's Point contained 12 six and eight- 
inch guns and four six-inch rifle guns, banded at the breech. 
One of the batteries was also roofed over and supposed to be 
bomb proof. 

Pig Point, at the mouth of the Nansemond river, was also for- 
tified. The battery there was manned by the Portsmouth Rifle 
Company, Captain John C. Owens, and the post was under com- 
mand of Captain R. B. Pegram of the Navy. This battery had 
a small engagement with the United States cutter Harriett Lane 
on the 5th of June, which hauled off after an exchange of shots 
for about twenty minutes. No one was hurt in the battery, nor 
was the earthwork injured, though one of its guns, a 48-pounder, 
was disabled by a shot from the Lane. The batteries at Pinner's 
Point were under command of Captain George Harrison of the 
Navy, and the men at Craney Island were drilled at the guns by 
several Naval officers, chief of whom was Lieutenant Sharpe of 
Norfolk. 

Captain A. B. Fairfax of the Navy was ordered to the Navy 
Yard in charge of the Ordnance Department, and was a man of 
practical ideas. Under his orders, with the approbation of Com- 
modore Forrest, an experiment was made of rifling one of the 
32-pounder Dahlgren guns which was left by the Federals when, 
they made their hasty exit. An experienced mechanic was di- 
rected to supervise the work, and in order to strengthen the gun 
strong wrought iron bands were shrunk around it at the breech. 
The work was finished that summer and the gun was mounted on 
a small steam tug called the Harmony belonging to Captain James 
Brown of Portsmouth, and used for carrying freight between 
Portsmouth and Norfolk. Captain Fairfax took command of 
this little vessel of one gun, and, taking on board twenty-five 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 25 

shells, steamed down into Hampton Roads to engage the United 
States vessels which were anchored there. It was a repetition of 
the combat between David and Goliath. The frigate Savannah 
was the first object of the Harmony's attack. She was lying at 
the month of the James river, and the rifle gun from the little 
craft threw its shells over and into the big frigate, but the shots 
which were aimed at her in return fell far short of their mark. 
Captain Fairfax continued the engagement until he had fired 
away all of his ammunition. 

This gun was a great advancement in the science of the manu- 
facture of ordnance, and the inventor has not received the credit 
which is justly due him. It was the work of Mr. Thomas Carr 
of Portsmouth, who, at the time, was a foreman or quarterman in 
the Steam Engineering Department of the Gosport Navy Yard. 
Mr. James Flemming was Master Machinist and Chief Engineer 
William P. Williamson was in charge of the Department. Mr. 
Carr says he saw two Parrott guns in possession of the 3d Georgia 
Regiment, which was camped near the Navy Yard, and noticed 
the manner in which they were rifled and banded, and the thought 
occurred to him that it would be practicable to rifle and band the 
six-inch Dahlgren guns, and he got up a machine which could be 
attached to a lathe and with which the grooves might be cut in 
the guns. He made a small pencil sketch of it and submitted it 
to Chief Engineer Williamson, who at once saw its utility and 
sent for Captain Fairfax, to whom the machine and its objects 
were explained. Captain Fairfax approved of the idea and di- 
rected Mr. Carr to go ahead with it, to make his machine and ex- 
periment on one of the guns. Mr. George Maxwell of Ports- 
mouth, an experienced machinist, operated the machine and did 
the mechanical part of the work, and its successful test was made 
in the engagement between the Harmony and Savannah. Mr. 
Carr was an humble mechanic, interested only in the success of 
the Southern cause, and not seeking to make either fame or for- 
tune for himself out of the war, and has therefore not been men- 
tioned in connection with this great experiment, but he claims 
that he is none the less entitled to all the credit which should at- 
tach to it. Hundreds of heavy cannon were rifled in the South 
after Mr. Carr's idea. Mr. Carr is alive at this writing and is 
still a citizen of Portsmouth. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the Navy Yard was evacuated 
by the Federals on the 20th of April and the Confederates had 
fortified the harbor to prevent the return of the United States 
men of war, communication was kept up with Baltimore by the 
Bay Line steamers until the 30th, when the United States Gov- 
ernment declared the port in a state of blockade. That day the 
steamer William Selden was permitted to come through with her 
mails and passengers but the Confederates seized her and refused 



26 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

to allow her to return. She brought down a large number of 
Baltimoreans who had taken part in the riot in that city on the 
19th of April, when the Massachusetts troops were passing 
through. Upon their arrival here they organized themselves into 
a military company, were joined by a number of recruits from 
Southampton and Norfolk counties, and were assigned to the 9th 
Virginia Regiment as Company B, and were on duty on Craney 
Island until May 10th, 1862, when they marched off with the 
regiment at the evacuation of this section by the Confederates. 
The following were the officers of the company at Craney Island : 

Captain, John D. Myrick of Norfolk. 

First Lieutenant, John O'Donnell of Baltimore. 

Second Lieutenant, ■ Parker of Southampton county, Va. 

Third Lieutenant, Benjamin F. Cason of Princess Anne county. 

Among the defences of the harbor was the old frigate United 
States. This was the only vessel spared by Commodore McCauley 
when he burned the Navy Yard. The Confederates subsequently 
changed her name to the Confederate States, fitted her up with 
a battery, manned her, and anchored her .near the bend in the 
channel just above Craney Island. The sunken vessels Merrimac, 
Plymouth, Germantown and Dolphin, which were lying alongside 
the wharves at the Navy Yard, were gotten up by the Baker 
Wrecking Company, under direction of the Confederate authori- 
ties, to get them out of the way, and some work was commenced 
on -the last three with a view to fitting them out. The Merrimac 
was burned down to her water line, and it was not thought any 
use could be made of her beyond taking her machinery out of 
her, but subsequent events proved the fallacy of human predic- 
tions, for "the stone which the builders rejected became the key 
stone of the temple." But the Merrimac will be made the sub- 
ject of another chapter, and' many matters of local interest will 
be found in the short historical sketches of the various companies 
from Portsmouth and the county, which will follow later on in 
this work. 

On the 7th of June, 1861, the companies of the 3d Regiment, 
under Colonel Roger A. Pry or, which had been on duty at the 
Naval Hospital batteries, were ordered to Burwell's Bay in Isle 
of Wight county, and the Hospital batteries were left in the care 
of the Elliott Grays, Captain Louis Bossieux, of Manchester, at- 
tached to the 12th Virginia Regiment, and the Jackson Grays, 
Captain William H. Stewart, of Norfolk county, afterwards Co. 
A, 61st Virginia Regiment. About the same time the Old Do- 
minion Guard of Portsmouth was reinforced at Pinner's Point by 
the Craney Island Artillery of Norfolk county, Captain J. T. 
Kilby, and the Portsmouth Rifle Company at Pig Point was rein- 
forced by Company H, 59th Virginia Regiment, Captain Niblett, 
of Lunenburg county. 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 27 

Quite an active trade in sugar and fruit was carried on between 
Norfolk and the "West India Islands, by way of Hatteras Inlet, 
through the agency of light draft schooners, and the steamer J. 
E. Coffer Avas converted into a gunboat, armed with one gun, and 
with her name changed to the Winslow, captured a number of 
prizes off Cape Hatteras, which she brought into the Carolina 
sounds. She was finally lost by running upon an obstruction or 
sunken wreck while going to the assistance of a French vessel 
which had gotten ashore on the coast near Ocracoke Inlet. 

Had Secretary Mallory, of the Confederate States Navy, been 
possessed of a little foresight about this time, the affairs of' the 
Southern Confederacy might not have turned out so disastrously. 
Naval Constructor John L. Porter, of Portsmouth, in June, 1861, 
while in Richmond on business connected with the conversion of 
the Merrimac into an iron-clad, nrged upon Secretary Mallory the 
importance of importing at once from England steam engines and 
armor plates for gunboats to defend the Southern ports. Mr. 
Porter had been a" Naval Constructor in the United States Navy, 
and npon the secession of Virginia resigned his commission and 
tendered his services to her. He was opposed to the war and to 
the secession of the State, but when she had decided to go out of 
the Union he cast his fortunes with her. He knew the resources 
of the United States and its ability to speedily tit out a large naval 
force, and called Secretary Mallory's attention to the fact that, 
while the South was rich in material out of which to build gun- 
boats, it was deficient in means of building machinery for them 
and preparing armor plating to protect them. He further told 
the Secretary that it would not be long before the United States 
would have afloat a sufficient force to blockade the ports of the 
South and shut them up from the outside world, and urged that 
steps be taken at once to import engines and armor iron before it 
would be too late. Secretary Mallory replied that it was useless 
to go to all of that expense ; that the war would be over in six 
months, and Mr. Porter could not convince him otherwise. Soon 
matters turned out just as Mr. Porter had predicted. 

On the 29th of August a powerful Federal fleet attacked the 
forts at Hatteras Inlet", and they surrendered after a short but de- 
structive bombardment. Lieutenant William H. Murdaugh, of 
the Navy, of Portsmouth, was severely wounded during the bom- 
bardment. The Confederates abandoned the fort at Oregon Inlet 
shortly afterwards, and on the 8th of February, 1862, Roanoke 
Island was captured, and the United States vessels held undis- 
puted possession of the North Carolina sounds. The fleet of 
shells, which the Confederates gathered in the sounds and called 
gunboats, could afford no material resistance to the overwhelming 
force which was sent against them. Some were sunk at Roanoke 
Island, and the rest retreated to Elizabeth City, leaving the troops 



28 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

on Roanoke Island, to the number of 2,500, to their fate, which 
was not long doubtful. Newbern was captured on the 4th of 
March, and fifty-eight heavy guns and three hundred prisoners 
fell into the hands of the enemy. On the 12th of April Fort 
Pulaski, at the entrance to the Savannah river, surrendered after 
a short bombardment, and Fort Macon, at the entrance to the 
harbor of Beaufort, yielded on the 25th, so that on the whole 
Southern Atlantic coast only two ports, Wilmington and Charles- 
ton, were left to the Confederacy, and these were closely block- 
aded. Then, when it was too late, Secretary Mallory's eyes were 
opened, and he made contracts everywhere, and with every one, 
to build iron-clad gunboats. Old saw mills were robbed of their 
machinery to furnish motive power for them, while armor iron 
with which to cover them could not be obtained at any price. 
There was only one establishment in the South, the Tredegar 
Iron Works in Richmond, where it could be manufactured, and 
the capacity of that was very limited. While the Merrimac was 
being changed into an iron-clad at the Navy Yard here a half- 
dozen smaller and lighter draft vessels could have been built like 
the Richmond, had there been machinery and armor iron on 
hand for them. As it was, the work on the Merrimac was greatly 
delayed because the Tredegar Works could not furnish the iron 
fast enough, and others were wholly neglected. 

After all of the ports had been closed Secretary Mallory devel- 
oped an energy which, had it manifested itself earlier, might have 
saved the Southern Confederacy from destruction, and in May, 
1863, according to an official report of Chief Constructor John L. 
Porter, there were fourteen vessels completed, as to their wood 
work, waiting for iron to cover them. The amount needed was 
4,230 tons. Others were in course of construction, but the ma- 
chinery with which to propel them was of the crudest kind. So 
scarce was iron in the Confederacy that, when Captain Cooke was 
superintending the building of the Albemarle on the Roanoke 
river, he went through the country blacksmith shops and gathered 
up every scrap and old bolt he could find. Flow different would 
matters have been had Secretary Mallory taken Mr. Porter's ad- 
vice in 1861. Considerable money was expended in efforts to 
secure vessels abroad to cripple the enemy's commerce, but the 
defence of the home ports of the South was neglected. 

Matters moved along smoothly in this vicinity after the Federal 
forces left until the attack upon Fort Hatteras, already alluded 
to. This, and the fall of Roanoke Island and the loss of its gar- 
rison of 2,500 men, who could have been saved had there been a 
vessel present to have taken them off, were severe blows to the 
Confederacy, as they opened the whole of Eastern North Caro- 
lina to the incursions of the enemy's gunboats and infantry sup- 
ports, and forced the Confederates to guard hundreds of miles of 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 29 

territory in their uncertainty as to where the next blow would be 
struck. Hatteras and Oregon Inlets should have been better pro- 
tected. The fall of Roanoke Island had an influence on the Con- 
federate affairs about Portsmouth also, as it exposed the lines 
there to an attack from the rear, while the Federal force at For- 
tress Monroe was a constant menace from the front, and, in order 
to meet demonstrations from the enemy in that direction, the 3d 
Georgia, 1st Louisiana, 32d North Carolina, the Portsmouth Rifle 
Company and Grimes' Battery were sent to the vicinity of South 
Mills. The 3d Georgia had two engagements with the enemy 
before the arrival of the other troops, one at Chicamicomico, Oc- 
tober 5th, 1861, and the other near South Mills, April 19th, 1862, 
and it was daily apprehended that the force which captured New- 
bern would make an attempt in the direction of Portsmouth. The 
bulk of this force, however, was subsequently sent to the Penin- 
sula to reinforce General McClellan. 

In the Navy Yard everything was activity. Hundreds of 
skilled mechanics who had enlisted in the army were detailed- to 
work there. Work was commenced on the Merrimac on the 12th 
of July, 1861, and several other vessels were being built. The 
Richmond, an iron-clad, to carry four guns, built with slanting 
roof like the shield of the Merrimac, but with ends above the 
water line and protected like the shield^ was launched, as were 
the Hampton and Nansemond, two two-gun gunboats, and the 
Escambia and Elizabeth, two light draft, iron-protected gunboats, 
to carry two guns each, were also commenced, and later another 
of the same character, called the Yadkin. Some work was done 
on the Germantown and Plymouth also, towards fitting them out. 
The machine shops and foundries were being run to their utmost 
capacity. Numerous thirty -two pound Dahlgren guns were rifled 
and banded, like the one with which Captain Fairfax so success- 
fully contended against the frigate Savannah, and were sent to 
the different batteries around the harbor and to other localities. 
Some were sent to Seawell's Point, and a masked battery of them 
was constructed at the point nearest the Rip Raps, but was never 
unmasked. It was left there for the Federals when Norfolk was 
evacuated. Two were placed on the outer battery at Seawell's 
Point, and were manned by the Jackson Grays, of Norfolk 
county. Several were sent to Craney Island, four to Pinner's 
Point, and four to Naval Hospital Point, all of which were sub- 
sequently donated to the enemy. 

During all these trying times the ladies of Portsmouth were 
not idle. The newly organized companies of Portsmouth and 
Norfolk county were mustered into service without uniforms, 
and many of the companies which came from further South were 
similarly conditioned, but the ladies organized sewing circles and 
made up hundreds of uniforms for them. They also made organ- 



30 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

ized efforts to care for the sick soldiers in the camps and in the 
hospital, so that many a poor fellow who was stricken down by 
disease, in consequence of the exposure of camp life, had his 
fevered pulses cooled and his couch softened by the tender hands 
of the ladies of Portsmouth. Nor did their good works stop here, 
but they were untiring in their efforts to provide the soldiers with 
shoes, blankets, overcoats and everything else which would make 
them comfortable, while the families of those who were in the 
service were tenderly cared for. Nor was the City Council back- 
ward in aiding the cause in which the State of Virginia was en- 
gaged, as will be seen by glancing over the records of its proceed- 
ings from April, 1861, to May, 1862. 

On the 18th of April, 1861, $1,500 was appropriated to pur- 
chase arms and ammunition for the defense of the city, and on 
the 3d of May the Council passed a resolution authorizing the 
Mayor to make provision for quartering and feeding the troops 
arriving in the city from the South. On the 15th of June the 
sum of $1,000 was appropriated for the relief of the families of 
Portsmouth soldiers who were in the field, and an appropriation 
of $500 was made to purchase sabre bayonets for the Portsmouth 
Rifle Company. On the 17th of July $500 was appropriated to 
the Portsmouth Artillery Company to procure side arms and 
$1,000 to the relief of the families of Portsmouth soldiers, and on 
the 14th of August $1,000 additional was appropriated for this 
purpose. That night a committee composed of Messrs. Arthur 
Emnierson, John S. Stubbs and David Griffith was appointed to 
consider the question of relief of the families of the military, and 
made their report on the 26th. The committee stated that they 
had ascertained that four hundred families were in need of assist- 
ance, and recommended that the sum of $5 per month be appro- 
priated to each. The report of the committee was concurred in 
and the sum of $10,000 was appropriated to carry the recommen- 
dation into effect. The reports of the Relief Committee show 
that there was expended of this sum for August and September 
$2,690, and similar amounts thereafter. For April, 1862, the 
amount expended was $1,450, distributed among two hundred 
and ninety families. 

On the 4th of May it became rumored that the Confederates 
intended evacuating the city and that it was the purpose of the 
authorities to burn the Navy Yard, and, at a meeting of the 
Council held that night a committee was appointed to wait upon 
Captain S. S. Lee, who had been Commandant of the N.-tvy Yard 
since March 24th, to protest against setting the buildings on fire, 
as it would endanger the city, besides, if left standing, they would 
be servicable to the Confederate Government after the close of 
the war. The Mayor was authorized to employ the watchmen in 
the Navy Yard after the evacuation to protect the property from 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 31 

incendiaries. The protest of the Council, however, did not avail 
anything, and the buildings were all' burned. 

On the 17th of March General McClellan began transferring 
his army from Manassas to Fortress Monroe fo-r the purpose of 
trying to reach Richmond by the Peninsula route, instead of the 
overland route, upon which the Federal armies had been operat- 
ing for the preceding year, and General Joseph E. Johnston, com- 
mander of the Confederate forces which had been operating in front 
of him at Manassas, followed him, and the opposing armies con- 
fronted each other near Yorktown. General Johnston was per- 
haps the most skillful general in conducting a retreat the world 
ever saw, and having decided some time in April that he would 
fall back near Richmond, communicated his plans to the Confed- 
erate authorities in that city, who approved of them. McClellan 
was getting ready to open a number of heavy batteries upon Gen- 
eral Johnston's lines, and the Confederate commander felt appre- 
hensive of the result of the bombardment, though subsequent 
events later in the war demonstrated the fact that earthworks 
could stand an unlimited amount of pounding without being ma- 
terially injured. There does not secern to have been much ground 
for his apprehension, for the works at Yorktown prevented an 
expedition up York river to turn his left flank, and Swinton, in 
his "Army of the Potomac," says "the iron-plated Merrimac 
reigned mistress of Hampton Roads and prevented a turning expedi- 
tion up James river." But General Johnston had determined to 
fall back, and did not desire to do it by piecemeal, therefore his 
plan included the evacuation of Norfolk and Portsmouth. Per- 
haps he wanted the 15,000 troops there to reinforce his army 
before Richmond, but, be that as it may, it was decided to evac- 
uate Norfolk and Portsmouth, and to abandon the Navy Yard, 
with its valuable machinery and its facilities for building ships 
and casting cannon. It was the principal workshop in the South, 
and its loss was irreparable. 

The latter part of April or the first of May, 1S62, Secretary 
Mallory, of the Confederate States Navy, arrived in Portsmouth 
and informed Captain S. S. Lee, commanding the Navy Yard, 
that it was the intention of the Government to evacuate the city. 
He directed Captain Lee to remove such naval supplies as could 
be moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and other points. Ac- 
cordingly the work of evacuating commenced. Several train 
loads were sent off by rail, and a convoy of vessels started up 
James river for Richmond. Among them was the new iron-clad 
Richmond, then ready to receive her armor. These were loaded 
with such stores as were available, and taking advantage of the 
darkness of night, the vessels steamed or were towed past New- 
port News. The terror of the Merrimac's name kept that por- 
tion of Hampton Roads free from Federal vessels, therefore the 



32 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

expedition was not interfered with in its passage. Two new gun- 
boats, the Nansemond and Hampton, built at the Navy lard, 
also steamed up to Richmond. 

Early in the morning of the 10th of May Captain James Byers 
commanding the tug J. B. White, of Norfolk, deserted with his 
tug to Old Point, and General Huger became very apprehensive 
that he would report the condition of affairs in Norfolk to the 
Federal authorities at Fortress Monroe, and that they would send 
an expedition to capture the two cities before the Confederates 
could get away. He therefore determined to leave at once, and 
hurried away with his splendid division of twelve or fifteen thous- 
and troops, when no one pursued and thousands of dollars worth 
of valuable stores were burned in the haste with which the place 
was abandoned. The buildings in the Navy Yard were burned, 
as was also what was left of the Germantown and Plymouth. 
The Escambia and Elizabeth, which might have been towed to 
Richmond, had the attempt been made in time, were set on fire 
and destroyed, as was also the Yadkin, which was on the stocks. 
The dry dock, also, was somewhat injured. As the day ad- 
vanced General Wool, commanding the forces at Fortress Mon- 
roe, noticed that the Confederate flag had been hauled down from 
the batteries at Seawell's Point, landed 6,000 men near the base 
of Willoughby's Spit and advanced towards Norfolk. He was 
met in the afternoon about half-past four o'clock near the en- 
trenched camp by Mayor W. W. Lamb, of Norfolk, who in- 
formed him that the Confederate forces had left the city, and, as 
the representative of the civil authorities, he was ready to sur- 
render it. The next day a force of Federals crossed over the 
river to Portsmouth and occupied that city. Later an expedi- 
tionary force was pushed out towards Suffolk. 

The scenes at the evacuation of Portsmouth by the Confeder- 
ates were peculiarly distressing. The soldiers bid adieu to their 
wives, mothers and little children with the full knowledge that, 
as the Southern Confederate authorities found themselves unable 
to hold the city while they had possession of it, they would never 
be able to recover possession until the close of the war, and in 
every man's mind was the natural dread and uncertainty as to 
what would become of their wives and helpless little ones, in the 
hands of the enemy, with no means of sustenance and no one to 
take care of them. Under these circumstances it required the 
highest amount of moral courage and the sublimest degree of pa- 
triotism for a man to turn his back upon his family and to march 
forth and encounter the dangers and uncertainties of the future 
which lay before him. 

On the 10th of May, 1862, the last Confederate soldier marched 
out of Portsmouth, the Portsmouth Rifle Company bringing up 
the rear, and, looking back tl irough the thirty years which have passed 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 33 

since then, the anxious countenances of the women and children 
who were left behind, as they thought of what the morrow would 
bring them, can be seen as vividly to-day as then. It was an im- 
pression which can never be erased from memory "while the 
mind holds sway in the seat of thought ; " and of the twenty -two 
hundred men of Portsmouth and Norfolk county who marched 
away from their homes on that day nearly one-fourth fell upon 
the field of battle or died from disease contracted in the service, 
and three years after they bid adieu to their homes and families 
the remnant came back, broken in health, disabled from wounds, 
or their bodies enfeebled from seeds of diseases contracted in the 
loathsome prison camps of the enemy. 

The batteries which had been erected around the harbor with 
so much care and labor, and the scores of heavy guns which had 
been placed in positions where, it was fondly hoped, they would 
keep the foe at bay forever, were abandoned without a struggle 
and in such haste that no effort was made to remove the guns. 

Nearly all of the workmen who were employed in the Navy 
Yard followed the army to Richmond and took their families 
with them. . These men were employed in the navy yard which 
was improvised in that city or sent to Charlotte , to work on ord- 
nance stores. Those who were retained in Richmond were or- 
ganized into a battalion for local defence, and elected Martin 
Curlin. of Portsmouth, major. The battalion was frequently 
called into service defending the city against raiding parties of 
the enemy, and thus enabled the regular army to remain in front 
of the enemy's main army. 

The names which follow in the histories of each company em- 
brace those who marched away from the cities and county with 
their commands on the 10th of May, 1862, as far as they could be 
obtained. There may possibly have been a few others, but there 
were not many. Those lists have been very carefully prepared, 
and while possibly not absolutely correct, are very nearly so. 
Those who are marked as having been detailed in 1861 are be- 
lieved to have followed the army to Richmond upon the evacua- 
tion. Some of them worked in the Nary Yard there or at other 
points in the South, but most of them rejoined the companies to 
which they were originally attached. 

The lists of those who were killed or died in the service is be- 
lieved to be correct, though, as the places at which they died were 
made up partially from memory by the survivors, it is possible 
that there may be a few errors in that particular feature. It is 
very certain, too, that quite a number of men were wounded but 
whose wounds were forgotten by those now living, and while the 
record is reliable as far as it goes, it is possible that some were 
wounded who are not so recorded. The work of gathering to- 
gether these facts was postponed so long after the close of the 



34 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

scenes herein recorded, and so many of those who took part in 
them have died since they laid down their arms, that the wonder 
is, not that much has been omitted but that so much has been col- 
lected and preserved. The author has given it careful study, 
and no accessible source of information has been neglected. He 
hopes, therefore, his readers will approve what he has succeeded 
in rescuing from oblivion and not criticise him for not having 
done better. 

While the Federal forces occupied the city of Portsmouth the 
citizens, whose sympathies were with the Southern Cause, expe- 
rienced all of the rigors and oppressions of a conquered people. 
Not only were their personal liberties taken from them but their 
religious privileges were abridged. The Northern Methodist 
Church sent "missionaries" to the city, and by order of the Federal 
Commander of the post the old Dinwiddie Street Methodist 
Church was taken from its congregation, and turned over to one 
of these imported preachers, for the purpose of conducting ser- 
vices therein. The order was issued one Saturday, and that night 
fires were made in the furnaces for the purpose of heating the 
building for the next day's services, but, on account of a defective 
flue, the building caught on lire and was burned to the ground. 
Then another order from the Military Commander gave St. John's 
Episcopal Church to the disappointed preacher, and that church 
was used by the. Northern Methodists until after the close of the 
war, when its owners again obtained possession of it. Rev. John 
H. D. Wingfield, pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church was arrested 
and put to work on the streets with a ball and chain fastened to 
his leg and the. church was taken possession of and converted into 
a hospital for negro troops. 

Portsmouth had the honor of being represented in the very 
closing scenes of " the drama of the Lost Cause." A number of 
mechanics from the Gosport Navy Yard were taken to Charlotte, 
North Carolina, upon the evacuation of Portsmouth by the Con- 
federates and were emploj^ed there by the Government in the 
manufacture of ordnance stores. These men were organized into 
a military battalion and were frequently called away from their 
work benches to repel raiding parties of the enemy. After the 
fall of Richmond President Davis started southward, and upon 
the arrival at Charlotte of the train bearing the specie which was 
in the Confederate Treasury volunteers were called for to escort 
it to the army of General Kirby Smith in the Trans-Mississippi 
Department, and sixty of these men volunteered for that service. 
The corps of midshipmen from the Confederate Naval Academy, 
under Captain W. H. Parker of the Navy, was with the train. 
At Chester, South Carolina, the party was joined by Mrs. Davis, 
wife of President Davis. She had with her her infant daughter, 
now Miss Winnie, and at that point the specie was transferred to 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH 



35 



wagons. On the march from Chester to Newberry Mrs. Davis 
became tired of riding in the wagon and got out to walk, carrying 
the baby in her arms, but Messrs. Charles T. Myers, C. W. Walker 
and Henry A. Tabb volunteered to relieve her of the burden, and 
took turns at carrying the little traveler. The company again 
took the cars at Newberry and proceeded as far as Abbeville, 
where the specie was again loaded in wagons and the escort pushed 
on to Augusta, Georgia, when news came that the Federal forces 
had taken possession of Macon and thus interposed between them 
and the Mississippi. The specie belonging to the Richmond banks 
was deposited in a bank in Augusta and the expedition then turned 
back and moved on to Abbeville, South Carolina, where they met 
President Davis and a part of his Cabinet, and the specie belong- 
ing to the Confederate Treasury was turned over to him. A bag 
of pennies was very generously given to the company. The men 
counted them and found there would be just 33-^ - cents apiece 
and put them back in the bag and returned them with thanks. 
The corps of cadets were disbanded at Abbeville on the 2d of 
May. General Johnston's army had surrendered then, and the 
company of volunteers was ordered back to Charlotte. President 
Davis left them at Abbeville and pushed on until he was captured. 
The Captain of this company had a roll of its members, but, not 
appreciating the importance it might become as a matter of his- 
tory, permitted it to become lost. This was, perhaps, the last 
organized body of Confederate troops east of the Mississippi river. 
It was composed of about forty-five Portsmouth men, five Wash- 
ingtonians and ten North Carolinians from Charlotte. The follow- 
ing are all of the Portsmouth men whom memory can recall : 



John Archer, 
John Anderson, 
James Brown, 
Bartlett Brown, 
Henry C. Brown, 
Thomas Baker, 
Wash. Bright, 
Samuel Butt, 
Reuben Culpepper, 
William Culpepper, 
Robert Culpepper, 
John E. Deans, 
Charles Davis, 
Thomas Dwyer, 



George Daoughertv, 
J. W. Davis, 
Alphons Dunham, 
Thomas H. Deans, 
Richard Grimes, 
Edward Lewis, 
Walter Mahohey, 
Charles T. Myers, 
( 'ornelius Myers, 
Joseph Merchant, 
George Maxwell, 
Robert Myers, 
Merritt Moore, 



John Owins, 
William Peed, 
C. C. Peed, 
James Peed, 
Benj. Presson, 
James Potter, 
Hugh Smith, 
Joshua Sykes, 
Win, H. Turner, 
Henry A. Tabb, 
C. W. Walker, 
Wm. Whitehurst, 
William J. Wood, 
Total, 41. 
9th Va. Regiment, and 



Jerry Nichols, 
Lieutenant Thomas Gleason of Co. D, 
Privates William T. Edwards, Co. G, 9th Va., and Edward Grant 
of Co. C, 16th Va. Regiment, all of Portsmouth, were also with 
the party. They had been captured previously and paroled, but 



36 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

had not been exchanged, and had not, therefore, rejoined their 
companies. The five men from Washington were : 
William Clements, William Thompson, William Tucker, 
George Thompson, John Tucker. 

After the war Major F. W. Jett, formerly of Hampton, re- 
moved to Portsmouth. He was a Civil Engineer in the Confed- 
erate army and superintended the construction of the earthworks 
at the Naval Hospital and at Pinner's Point in April, 1861. He 
also built a military road from the Western Branch to Nansemond 
river and a bridge across the Western Branch. Upon the evacu- 
ation of Portsmouth by the Confederates he became Chief of 
Engineers of Anderson's Division, afterwards Mahone's, and ren- 
dered very efficient service. He was specially complimented in 
General Anderson's official report of the part taken by his Division 
in the battle of Fredericksburg. It occurred to Major Jett that 
the Portsmouth and Norfolk county soldiers, who had won fame's 
immortal wreath in such battles as Gettysburg and the Crater, 
should have a monument erected to commemorate their courage 
and fortitude, and by his efforts a Monument Association was or- 
ganized in 1875, with the following officers: 

President — Adjutant James F. Crocker. 

Yice Presidents — Major William H. Etheredge and Colonel 
William White. 
. Treasurer — Major George W. Grice. 

Secretary — Corporal O. V. Smith. 

Directors — Sergeant B. A. Armistead, Captain John T. Griffin, 
Major W. C. Wingfield, E. G. Ghio, Esq., Captain James H. 
Toorner, Colonel D. J. Godwin, Captain John H. Gayle, Captain 
C. W. Murdaugh, L. R. Watts, Esq., Sergeant Major Charles T. 
Phillips, Lieutenant Colonel William H. Stewart, Private Alonzo 
Ives, Captain Thomas M. Hodges and Captain Jetson Jett. 

A design by Charles E. Cassell, Esq., architect, of Portsmouth, 
was selected for the monument, and the corner stone was laid 
December 14th, 1876, with Masonic ceremonies. The stone for 
the monument was presented to the Association by the Seaboard 
and Roanoke and Raleigh and Gaston railroad companies, and 
came from a granite quarry in North Carolina belonging to the 
Raleigh and Gaston company. The Monument Association paid 
the cost of quarrying; it, and the two railroad companies hauled it 
to the city free of charge. Major Jett was untiring in his efforts 
to raise money to carry on the work, and but for his energy and 
determination it would undoubtedly have fallen through, but, 
after several delays and interruptions, Major Jett announced on 
the 12th of June, 1881, that the next day he would be prepared 
to swing the copestone in position and complete the monument 
proper. On the morning of the 13th the ladies of the Confed- 
erate Memorial Association of Portsmouth "manned" the arms 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. 37 

of the capstan and raised the copestone in position. The site, on 
Court street in front of the Court House, was selected by a com- 
mittee composed of Messrs. H. V. Niemeyer, Samuel Watts, F. 
W. Jett, James T. Borum and George M. Bain, Jr., and the City 
Council gave its consent. 

The monument is of granite, fifty-five feet six inches high. The 
base is fifteen feet across and seven feet high, surmounted by a 
sub-base seven feet square and thirteen feet high. Four white 
metal statues, life size, one on each side of the base, represent the 
different branches of the service, infantry, cavalry, artillery and 
the sailors. 

Major George W. Grice, who was elected treasurer of the Asso- 
ciation, died in October, 1875, and was succeeded by Mr. "William 
H. H. Hodges. Mr. Hodges died in January, 1880, and Mr. 
William Y. H. Williams was elected treasurer and filled the posi- 
tion until the completion of the monument. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE PORTSMOUTH LIGHT ARTILLERY, 
GRIMES 1 BATTERY. 

This company dates its organization back to a period prior to 
the war of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, in 
which it achieved an enviable record. The principal engagement 
in which it took part was the battle of Craney Island in 1814, 
where, under command of Captain Arthur Emmerson, it con- 
tributed materially to the repulse of the British, and in 1861, at 
the beginning of the war between the North and the South, it 
was the oldest artillery company in the State. The company in 
1861 was equipped with four smooth bore iron field pieces, and 
the following were its officers : 

Captain — Cary F. Grimes. 

First Lieutenant — John H. Thompson. 

Second Lieutenant — Bernard Fauth. 

The company was ordered into service by Governor Letcher 
on the 20th of April, 1861, upon the secession of Virginia, and 
responded promptly. There were at that time about forty men 
on its rolls, but with the actual commencement of hostilities re- 
cruits rapidly joined its ranks until its membership exceeded a 
hundred. On- the night of April 20th the United States naval 
authorities burned the Gosport Navy Yard and evacuated it. 
The company was on duty that night, with their battery parked 
at the intersection of High and Court streets, but without any 
ammunition. 

On the 21st the company was marched to the Naval Hospital 
grounds, where it remained until May 16th, when it was ordered 
to Hofner's creek to guard the shore of Hampton Roads from 
Craney Island to the mouth of Nansemond river. 

On the 20th of July Private Richard Webb was elected Third 
Lieutenant, as under the Confederate Army regulations the com- 
pany became entitled to another officer. While at HofHer's creek 
the name of the company underwent an informal change, and in- 
stead of the Portsmouth Light Artillery it became known as 
" Grimes' Battery," and their camp at HofHer's creek was named 
Camp Grimes. 

On the 26th of March, 1862, there was a reorganization of the 
company, as the one year term of the original enlistment of the 
men was about to expire. This was nominally a reorganization 
but was really only a new election of officers, as the members of 
the company re-enlisted in a body " for three years or the war." 

38 



PORTSMOUTH LIGHT ARTILLERY-GRIMES' BA TTERY. 39 

There were present for duty that day in camp ninety-nine men who 
answered to roll call. The following officers were elected : 

Captain — Gary F. Grimes. 

First Lieutenant — John H. Thompson. 

Second Lieutenant — William T. Fentress. 

Third Lieutenant — Thomas J. Oakham. 

The next month Francis Russ was elected Fourth Lieutenant, 
as the size of the company and the number of guns in the battery 
entitled it to four Lieutenants. 

In the early portion of 1862 the United States forces captured 
Roanoke Island and held undisputed possession of the waters of 
Albemarle Sound, and in April a brigade of troops under General 
Reno advanced from Elizabeth City towards South Mills, threat- 
ening the Dismal Swamp canal. General Huger ordered the 3d 
Georgia Regiment, one of the finest regiments in the Confederate 
army, and numbering fully a thousand men, under Colonel A. R. 
Wright, to check their advance, and on the 23d of April Grimes' 
Battery was ordered from Hoffler's creek to reinforce the Geor- 
gians. The 1st Louisiana and the Portsmouth Rifle Company, 
Co. G, 9th Virginia, were also sent with them, but the reinforce- 
ments arrived too late to take part in the action. Colonel Wright 
fought the enemy at Sawyer's lane, about three miles from South 
Mills, and drove them back to Camden Court House. 

On the 2d of May, however, Grimes' Battery had a brush with 
the enemy on its own hook. One section, under Lieutenant 
Thompson, opened fire upon two United States gunboats in Pas- 
quotank river, and, after a spirited engagement, forced them to 
drop down the stream, considerably damaged. The next day a 
countryman brought news into camp that one of them sank shortly 
after the engagement from the effects of the shot. The other 
section of the battery, under Captain Grimes' immediate com- 
mand, was on the opposite side of the river from Lieutenant 
Thompson, but not being able to find an eligible position in which 
his pieces could be brought to bear upon the gunboats, it took no 
part in the action. 

On the 5th of May the battery returned under orders to Ports- 
mouth and was given two additional guns, making six in all with 
which it was equipped. It moved off with the Division of 
General Huger on the 10th, when Portsmouth was evacuated, and 
arrived in Petersburg on the 14th. On the 24th the battery was 
ordered to Drewry's Bluff, and on the 28th was marched to Rich- 
mond and became a part of the Army of Northern Virginia, which 
was then barring McClellan's way to Richmond. 

Grimes' Battery never shirked a duty or shrunk from obeying 
an order because the execution thereof was attended with danger, 
and it soon became known throughout the army as a fighting bat- 
tery. Captain Grimes' courage was proverbial, bordering even 



40 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

upon rashness, and on several occasions the battery received the 
commendation of General Anderson, to whose Division it was 
attached. 

On the 25th of June, at the beginning of the seven days' battles 
around Richmond, during which" General McClellan's army was 
driven from Mechanics ville to Harrison's Landing on James river, 
the battery had two guns engaged, shelling the enemy at rather 
long range, from 400 to 800 yards, and silenced two Federal guns, 
and at Malvern Hill on the 1st of July it behaved with distin- 
guished gallantry, maintaining a light at close range and unsup- 
ported against about eighty or one hundred Federal guns, which 
were sheltered by breastworks. Captain Grimes held his position 
for about two hours, until ordered to retire. He lost here three 
men killed, Walter A. Creekmore, John W. Matthews and Wil- 
liam Swain, besides eight wounded, of whom E. T. W. Sunmers 
and John Weymouth died. James H. Gaskins lost a leg here. 
Fifteen horses belonging to the battery were killed while "getting 
into position. 

On the 27th of July the battery was ordered to City Point for 
the purpose of firing upon the Federal transports in James river, 
and returned in time to join the army in its march to attack 
General Pope. It engaged in an artillery fight at Warrenton 
Springs on the 26th of August and had three men wounded there, 
one of whom died, and on the 30th reached the battle ground at 
Second Manassas. In this battle it added largely to the reputa- 
tion it had already made in its previous encounters with the enemy, 
and charged in line with Mahone's Brigade in the final rush upon 
and defeat of the left wing of Pope's army. 

It was with the army on its march to Maryland, took part in 
the battle at Crampton Gap September 14th, and, at Sharpsburg 
September 17th, 1862, lost its gallant commander, who was shot 
from his horse while directing the fire of his guns. Captain 
Grimes was in command of a battalion, composed of three com- 
panies, Grimes' Battery of Portsmouth, 1 guns, Huger's Battery 
of Norfolk, 4 guns, and Moorman's Battery "of Lynchburg, 4 guns. 
The battalion was under command of Major Saunders, but" that 
officer was absent at the time and Captain Grimes, as senior officer, 
was in charge. Lieutenant Thompson had immediate command 
of Grimes' Battery. The battle had wavered backward and for- 
ward on the left and center, where Jackson, after driving back 
Hooker's corps of the Federal army, had in turn been pushed 
back by the attack of Mansfield's corps. This in turn had been 
defeated by the assistance of fresh troops which arrived on the 
field from Harper's Ferry, and Sumner's corps of 20,000 men, 
coming to the assistance of their beaten comrades, was once more 
turning the tide of battle against the Confederates. At this crit- 
ical moment Grimes' battalion arrived upon the battle field with 



PORTSMOUTH LIGHT ARTILLERY-GRIMES' BATTERY. 41 

Anderson's Division and took post upon the Confederate left 
center, where the Federal attack had been most successful. The 
enemy were driven back, but the toll paid for the victory was 
heavy. Captain Grimes was struck from his horse by a wound in 
the thigh from a rifle ball, and as his men were bearing him off 
the field a second ball struck him in the groin and ended a mili- 
tary career which had given promise of a brilliant maturity. 

The men of the battery buried him with heavy hearts, and 
marked his grave, so that after the war his remains were disin- 
terred and brought back to the home and family, from which he 
parted just four months before he received his death wound. 
This brave soldier and kind friend was long lamented by the men 
in his command. His remains are interred in Oak wood Ceme- 
tery, near Portsmouth. 

Upon the death of Captain Crimes Lieutenant John II. Thomp- 
son was promoted to captain, but was not destined to long wear 
his well-earned honors. Prior to the battle of Sharpsburg General 
Lee had decided upon a reorganization of the artillery arm of the 
service. Horses were becoming scarce, and there was too great a 
proportion of artillery in the army as compared with the infantry. 
Captain Grimes, as commander of the battalion, had received 
orders to recommend one of his companies to be disbanded and 
to divide the men among the other two, but as the order was not 
to be executed immediately, and he had facilities for keeping all 
three in the field, he decided to wait until after the close of the 
campaign to make the changes. Had he done so at once the 
linger Battery would have been disbanded, as Captain. linger 
was the junior captain, but Captain Grimes' death made Captain 
Thompson the junior, hence, when, upon the return of the army 
to Virginia, and when near Winchester, General Lee's order was 
carried into effect, Grimes' Battery was disbanded and its men, 
about eighty in number, were divided between the two other 
companies in the battalion. This was part of General Order 
October 4th, 1862, and embraced twenty other batteries. Captain 
Thompson says he had perhaps as many men present for duty as 
the other two companies combined, and protested earnestly to 
General Lee against his company being disbanded, but General 
Lee explained to him the necessity for the movement in so kindly 
a manner that all of the sting was taken out of it. 

The detachment which went with Moorman's battery subse 
quently became horse artillery and were attached to the cavalry 
arm of the service, Fitzhugh Lee's Division. They kept up, as far 
as possible, a separate organization in that battery under Sergeant 
AVilliam H. Hughes, and maintained their reputation until the 
close of the war. On the 11th of June, 1864, Sergeant Hughes 
was promoted to a lieutenancy in the Lee Battery of Light Artillery 
and Thomas J. D. White became sergeant. The detachment 



42 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

which was assigned to the Hnger Battery also proved the metal 
that was in them, but, having passed out of existence as a separate 
organization, the brave deeds of the men in the battery brought 
credit to other places than their own beloved city, Portsmouth. 

Upon the disbanding of the battery the officers were assigned 
to other fields of duty, and General Lee, in recognition of their 
great disappointment in being deprived of their battery, very 
kindly assigned them to positions which were agreeable to them. 

The section which was assigned to Moorman's Battery distin- 
guished itself in an engagement December 4th, 1862, on the Rap- 
pahannock river, near Port Royal, with four Federal gunboats, 
the Anacostia, the Coeur de Leon, Currituck and Jacob Bell. 
Sergeant Hughes had charge of a three-inch rifle gun, and George 
W. R. McDonell was gunner. The gunboats were driven down 
the river by Moorman's Battery with heavy loss. The battery 
had one man killed, Private Compton of Lynchburg. 

MALVERN HILL. 

Below will be found Captain Grimes' report of the work of the 
battery during the seven days' battles, ending at Malvern Hill 
July 14th, 1862 : 

Camp near Falling Creek, Va., July 21st, 1862. 

Sir — Below please find a report of the movements of my bat- 
tery from June 20th last, when I w T as ordered to report to Briga- 
dier General Mahone, on the advanced lines, for the purpose of 
relieving Captain Moorman's battery. 

After reporting to General Mahone we were expecting an en- 
gagement with the enemy every day, but had none until the 25th, 
on which day we discovered the enemy on the opposite side of 
French's farm, between the Charles City and Williamsburg roads, 
at which place I engaged them with one section of my battery at 
850 yards distance, driving the enemy from his position. I after- 
wards moved one piece up to French's house, within 450 yards of 
his position, and opened on him, which was quickly replied to by 
him with a 12-pounder Parrott rifle gun ; but I had the pleasure 
of driving him from his position, leaving his horses and guns be- 
hind ; which fact I was not aware of until informed the next morn- 
ing by Colonel Smith of the 49th Virginia and others. The 
enemy was then attacked by a portion of three regiments of 
General Mahone's Brigade, the 12th, 6th and 49th Virginia. The 
4th Georgia and 28th North Carolina Regiments were also on the 
field. The enemy was driven from the field, making a complete 
stampede. I had the good luck on that day to lose neither man 
nor horse. 

Nothing of importance occurred with my battery after the 25 th 



PORTSMOUTH Lit HIT ARTILLERY— GRIMES' BATTERY. 43 

until July 1st On that day I whs on the Charles City road with 
Genera] Mahone's Brigade and was ordered hack to Darbeytown 
road to report to Brigadier General Armistead, which I immedi- 
ately did. When I arrived at that position and reported, General 
Armistead told nie that a captain had just reported his battery to 
him for duty and directed nie to report to the first general 1 saw, 
and, General Wright being ^^ first, I reported to him, and while 
talking to General Wright General Armistead's aide came up, 
stating that General Armistead had become disgusted with the 
captain who had reported his battery to him and had driven him 
with his battery from the field and that he wished to see General 
Wright. General Wright, asked me to ride with him, which 1 
did. When we found General Armistead he told General Wright 
that the captain alluded to above had formed so many excuses 
about getting his battery On the field that he had driven him from 
the field, and that he wanted General Wright to send a battery 
that was willing to go in and engage the enemy. General Wright 
told him he had one, naming mine. General Armistead asked me 
if I could carry my battery on the hill. 1 told him if any battery 
in the world could go, mine could. He directed General Wright 
to show me the position to take, which he did. I found the 
enemy with their batteries planted and their infantry drawn up 
in line of battle at about 1,200 yards distant. I then went to the 
rear for my battery and carried it on the field. As soon as the 
battery entered the field the enemy opened fire on it, killing one 
man and wounding three, and killing one horse and wounding 
two before I fired a gun. I unlimbered and commenced firing as 
soon as possible, and with telling effect on the enemy. 

I remained on the field about two hours. Lost three men killed 
outright and eight wounded, of whom two have since died. I 
lost ten public horses killed and seven wounded. My own private 
horse was killed, also my first lieutenant's horse. 

My officers behaved very well, but I feel it my duty to speak 
more particularly of First Lieutenant John H. Thompson, who 
remained on the field with me until the last gun was taken off. 
I had so many horses killed and wounded that it took three trips 
to get all my guns off. 

On the next day, the 2d, Colonel DeLagnel, chief of artillery, 
ordered me back to the old camp, near Richmond, to refit my 
battery. As soon as I completed it I was ordered by yourself to 
camp near Falling creek, on the Richmond and Petersburg turn- 
pike, where I now am, with my battery complete and in good 
condition, ready and willing to meet the invaders of our soil at 
any time and anyw r here. I have, General, the honor to be, 
Very respectfully your obedient servant, 

C. F. GRIMES, 
Captain Field Battery, Virginia Volunteers. 

Major General B. Huger. 



44 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

General Armistead said : " No men conld have behaved better 
than Captains Pegram and Grimes; they worked their guns after 
their men were cut down, and only retired when entirely disabled. 
What I M r anted never arrived; that is, more guns and heavier 
ones." 

The roster of the company, at the close of this chapter, is from 
the date of its being mustered into service. It was made up from 
memory, for the author, by some of the survivors, and it is pos- 
sible some names may have escaped them during the lapse of 
twenty-seven years, since the close of the war. For many of the 
dates in this chapter the author is indebted to Mr. Thomas H. 
Virnelson, who kept a diary of the movements of the company 
until the second battle of Manassas. 

Captain Cary F. Grimes, killed September 17th, 1862, at Sharpsburg. . 

Captain John H. Thompson, promoted captain. 

Lieutenant Bernard Fauth, joined signal corps and killed 1864. 

Lieutenant Richard Webb, transferred to cavalry, Thirteenth Virginia. 

Lieutenant William T. Fentress. 

Lieutenant Thomas J. Oakha,m. 

Lieutenant Francis Russ. 

PRIVATES. 

Allen, M. W., severely wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, and on the 
Petersburg lines 1864. 

Ash, John W. (sergeant), surrendered at Appomattox. 

Boyce, David, wounded at Chancellorsville May 3d, 1863, and at Warren- 
ton August 28th, 1862. 

Bohannon, Churchill. 

Buchanan, W. H., wounded at Brandy Station. 

Beaton, Edward E.. wounded April 1st, L865, on Hatcher's Run and died 
in hands of enemy. 

Brownley, A. M. 

Bell, W. H., died at Culpepper Court House 1862. 

Bland, Thomas. 

Brent, George W., wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas, and 
transferred to Navy. 

Backus, William T., Jr., died at hospital May, 1862. 

Batten, William A. 

Bright, William Jordan. 

Boutwell. Richard M., killed April 1st, 1865, on Hatcher's Run. 

Crismond, John W. 

Crismond, George E. 

Cummings, Southall. 

Cutherell, William H. 

Cherry, W. H., wounded September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg. 

Cherry, James. 

Creekmore, Walter A., killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Culver, George D., died at Jefferson from wounds received August 28th, 
1862, at Warrenton Springs. 

Dillion, James A. 

Dilsburg, John H. 

Ewell, John, wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

Fitz Simmons, Thomas. 

Forbes, V. 

Griffin, J. B. 

Gaskins, James H., lost leg at Malvern Hill July 1st, 1862. 

Goodson, Henry P., died from wounds September 16th, 1864, in hospital. 



POR TSMOUTH LIGHT A It TILLER Y- GRIMES' BA TTER T. 45 

Hughes. William H. (sergeant), promoted to lieutenant in Lee's Battery. 

Hopkius, Joshua H. L. 

Hopkins, Hillery, died in Shenandoah Valley 1862. 

Hansford, W. R., died on Rappahannock 1863. 

Ironmonger, C. E. 

Ironmonger, A. C. 

Ives, Francis M. 

Jones, William H., died in Charlottesville 1862. 

Jones, George T., died in hospital June 1862. 

Johnson, Ed. H. 

King, George W. 

Lewis, Robert. 

Lewis, William A., wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Lynch, Wilson B., wounded September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg. 

Lash, George W. 

Linn, Charles B. 

Liverinan, H. 

Morris, James E., died 1865. 

Moore, W. A., wounded slightly at Spotsylvania C. H. May 12th, 1864. 

Mahoney, William B. 

Moreland, Edward. 

Montgomery, Richard. 

McIIorney, Stephen. 

Matthews, Alonzo. 

Miller, P. H. 

Morgan, A. 

Miles, Henry, died in field hospital September 16th, 1864. 

Matthews, Edward. 

Matthews, John W., killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Murphy, John. 

McDonell, Alex. H. 

March, Edward G., discharged 1862, over age and disability. 

Myers, William T. 

Minter, A. M. 

Murray, Dennis. 

Miller, Thomas E. 

Miller, John. 

McDonell, George W. R., wounded Malvern Hill 1862, Brandy Station 

1863, Wilderness 1864, Petersburg 1864. 
Nicholson, F. J. 
Newby, S. W. 

Overman, Quinteu, killed September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg. 
Parker, A. K. 
Parker, Ephriam. 
Peed, Robert. 

Phillips, William, discharged 1862, over age. 
Parker, Thomas. 
Russ, Samuel P., captured April 2d, 1865, on Hatcher's Run, and died at 

Point Lookout 1865. 
Reynolds, Joseph S., wounded on Petersburg lines 1864. 
Rogers, F. D. 

Reardon, Michael E., died in Richmond 1864. 
Rieger, Joseph. 
Renin, Fred. 

Swain, William, killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 
Stoakes, Joseph M., killed September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg. 
Stoakes, H. C. 
Shephard, Edward J. 
Stores, Richard. 
Spragg, Aaron. 
Saunders, Robert, wounded at Brandy Station. 



46 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Sheppard, William E. 

Snow, John W. 

Stores, James. 

Summers, E. T. W., died in hospital from wounds received July 1st, 1862, 

at Malvern Hill. 
Straub, E. G., captured wounded in Pennsylvania in July, 1863, and died 

at Point Lookout. 
Tyler, John B. 
Virnelson. Thomas H. 
Williams, Charles C, died from wounds received August 30th, 1862, at 

Second Manassas. 
Williams, Charles L. 

Warren, Cary R-, discharged 1862, under age. 
Whitehead, William. 

Wing, Thos. P., promoted first sergeant, wounded near Petersburg 1864. 
Wilson, Willis. 
Webb, James, Jr. 
Weymouth, John, died in hospital from wounds received July 1st, 1862, 

at Malvern Hill. 
Widgeon, Jacob. 
Whitehead, Severn. 
Waller, James T. 
Whitehead, Virginius. 

White, Thomas J. 1)., wounded at Williamsport July 1863. 
Wrench, John. 
Warren, John J. 
Wilson, John. 

Webb, Thomas C, died at Churchland 1864. 
Killed and died —26. 



CHAPTER III. 

DISMAL SWAMP RANGERS, COMPANY A, THIRD VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was organized in 1856 at Deep Creek, in Nor- 
folk county, on the edge of the Dismal Swamp. Deep Creek was 
a small village and the neighborhood thinly populated, the peo- 
ple, therefore, deserve commendation for their zeal and spirit in 
organizing and maintaining such a large and efficient company. 
At the breaking out of the war in 1861 the officers of the com- 
pany were : 

Captain — James C. Choat. 

First Lieutenant — John R. White. 

Second Lieutenant — John F. Stewart. 

First Sergeant — Thomas M. Hodges. 

And the company was attached to the 3d Virginia Volunteer 
Regiment. 

In anticipation of trouble in Portsmouth with the Federal au- 
thorities in possession of the Gosport Navy Yard, and appre- 
hending that orders would be issued by the Governor calling the 
regiment to arms, Captain Choat mustered his company on the 
19th of April and marched with them to town. This was the day 
before the Navy Yard was burned. The next da} 7 the Governor's 
orders came and found the Dismal Swamp Rangers already under 
arms. The company was with the Portsmouth companies that 
night, and the next morning was sent to the Naval Hospital and 
assisted in building the batteries there. 

In the shifting of the original companies composing the 3d 
Regiment the Rangers were retained on it and became Company A. 
Shortly after being mustered into service Sergeant Thomas M. 
Hodges was elected 3d Lieutenant. Captain Choat resigned in 
the fall of 1861. Lieutenant White became captain. The other 
Lieutenants were promoted one grade, and Sergeant Littleton H. 
White was elected 3d Lieutenant, and these officers continued on 
duty until the reorganization of the company in April, when sev- 
eral changes were made. Captain White was appointed Commis- 
sary of the regiment, and was, later in the war, sent to the Black- 
water river as commissary in charge of the purchase of provisions. 
Lieutenant Stewart was appointed Adjutant of the regiment and 
the f ollowing^were elected officers : 

Captain — -Thomas M. Hodges. 

First Lieutenant — Fred Martin. 

Second Lieutenant — fin. James Williams. 

Third Lieutenant— Littleton H. White. 

The company left the Hospital battery on the 7th of June, 

47 



48 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

1861, with the regiment and went to Burwell's Bay, where it re- 
mained until the middle of March, 1802, when it was ferried over 
the James river to reinforce General Magrnder on the lines at 
Yorktown. It took part in a skirmish at Dam No. 2, and assisted 
in repnlsing McClellan's attempt to cross ; was in the battle of 
Williamsburg and fell back with the army towards Richmond. It 
took part in the battle of Seven Pines May 31st and June 1st, 
and all of the battles of the seven days' fighting except Malvern 
Hill, where it was held in reserve The company suffered very 
severely at Frazier's farm July 30th. It carried sixty-eight men 
into the battle and live of them, including Lieutenants Martin and 
Williams, were killed and seventeen others were wounded, of 
whom five subsequently died from their wounds. 

Shortly after the seven days' battles Lieutenant L. II. White 
was retired on account of physical disability and John R. Ed- 
wards was elected 1st Lieutenant, S. W. Gary 2d, and Osceola 
White 3d. The company went through the campaign of 1802, 
beginning with Second Manassas, taking in Harper's Ferry and 
Sharpsburg, and terminating in the crushing defeat of Burnside's 
army at Fredericksburg December 13th. At the battle of Get- 
tysburg Company A was deployed as skirmishers, and, under 
command of Captain Hodges, led the charge of Kemper's Brigade 
of Pickett's Division up Cemetery Hill. Captain Hodges and 
Lieutenant White were wounded and Lieutenant Gary was cap- 
tured. They recovered from their wounds and rejoined the 
company. Lieutenant Osceola White was killed at the battle of 
Dinwiddie Courthouse on the 31st of March, 1805 (the day before 
the battle of Five Forks), in which a portion of Pickett's Division 
defeated Sheridan's Cavalry. Captain Hodges had command of 
the 3d Regiment at the battle of Five Forks, and surrendered it 
at Appomattox. 

It is a singular fact that, though the company was in the line 
of skirmishers at Gettysburg and received the fire of the en- 
trenched Federals before the main line of battle, none of its men 
were killed. A number were wounded. 

The company had three Orderly Sergeants during the war — 
Thomas M. Hodges, who was promoted to Lieutenant and after- 
wards to Captain ; Nathan Hodges, who was captured at Gettys- 
burg and died in prison at Point Lookout, and Patrick Henry 
Miller, who was captured at Gettysburg and exchanged. He was 
appointed Orderly Sergeant upon his return and filled that posi- 
tion until the close of the war. He was wounded at the battle 
of Dinwiddie Courthouse March 31st, 1805, and conveyed to the 
hospital at Farmville, where he again fell into the hands of the 
enemy upon the retreat of the army to Appomattox. 

Maurice Liverman, of Company A, was mortally wounded at 
the battle of Frazier's Farm June 30th, 1802, and turning to some 



DISMAL SWAMP RANGERS, CO. A, THIRD VA. REGT. 49 

of his comrades, he said : "Boys, I can't live much longer, so hold 
me up so that I can tire one more shot and kill one more Yankee 
befqre I die, to get even with them for my own death." His 
comrades complied with his request. 

The following members of the company were in the charge of 
Pickett's Division at Gettysburg. The company was detailed as 
skirmishers for the 3d Regiment : 

Captain Thomas M. Hodges, wounded. 

Second Lieutenant S. W. Gary, captured. 

Third Lieutenant Osceola White, wounded. 

First Sergeant Nathan Hodges, captured. 

Sergeant P. II. Miller, wounded and captured. 
" John Nash. 
" John H. Cherry. 

PRIVATES. 

Barnes, Edward, Hodges, James, captured ; 

Benton, Joseph J., Hodges, Patrick II., captured ; • 

Britton, James J., Hodges, Josiah, 

Cherry, James E., Halstead, William, 

Duke, Gideon, Herbert, William, captured ; 

Fentress, Batson, LLnbury, Samuel W., 

Friedlin, John, Jolliff, John W., 

Forward, John W., Kilgore, Mallory, 

Gallop, John, Jr., Liverman, Hardy, captured; 

Godfrey, Mark, Nasi), William II. 

Below will be found a roll of the company : 

Captain, James C. Choat, resigned 1861. 

First Lieutenant John R. White, promoted Captain, appointed A. C. S. 
1862. 

Second Lieutenant John F. Stewart, appointed Adjutant 3d Regiment, 
wounded Aug. 30th, 1802, 2d Manassas, and July 3d, 1863, Gettys- 
burg, captured at Five Forks. 

Third Lieutenant Thomas M. Hodges, promoted Captain, wounded July 
3, 1863, Gettysburg, and Frazier's Farm June 30, 1862, surrendered 
at Appomattox. 

First Sergeant Littleton H. White, promoted Lieutenant, discharged for 
disability 1862. 

Second Sergeant S. W. Gary, promoted Lieutenant, captured at Gettysburg 
and not exchanged. 

Third Sergeant Fred Martin, promoted 1st Lieutenant, killed June 30th, 
1862, Frazier's Farm. 

First Corporal John H, Cherry, wounded Gaines' Mill June 27th, 1862, 
and Dec. 13th, 1862, Fredericksburg. 

Second Corporal Nathan Hodges, captured at Gettysburg and died at 
Point Lookout. 

Third Corporal John C. Nash, wounded June 27th, 1862, Gaines' Mill, 

Fourth Corporal Thomas B. Bartee, wounded slightly June 30th, 1862, Fra- 
zier's Farm, and captured at Five Forks April 1, 1865. 

Musician Ralph Cherry (colored). 
'* George Blamire % ' 



50 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



Brown, Bartlett, detailed to work in Charlotte, 1862. 

Barnes, Edward. 

Baternan, Raynor, discharged 1862, disability. 

Benton, Joseph J., wounded September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg. 

Britton, James J., captured at Five Forks. 

Bright, Thomas J., died in hospital 1863, Staunton. 

Cherry, James C, killed June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm. 

Cherry, James E., wounded September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg. 

Casey, Raynor, died in hospital March, 1862, Camp Pemberton. 

Culpepper, Maurice, severely wounded June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm, 
and appointed Provost Marshal at Waverly, 

Culpepper, Miles. 

Culpepper, Marshall, wounded June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm, disabled 
and discharged. 

Coffield, J. A., transferred to Maryland cavalry. 

Creekmore, Malachi, wounded April 1st, 1865, Five Forks. 

Duke, Gideon, died in hospital August, 1863. at Gordonsville. 

Eason, George W., wounded slightly April 1st, 1865, Five Forks, cap- 
tured and died from disease contracted at Point Lookout. 

Edwards, LeRoy B. 

Edwards, John R., promoted to Lieutenant, wounded September 17, 1862, 
Sharpsburg. 

Etheredge, Evan D., died in hospital 1862. 

Etheredge, James M., died in hospital 1862. 

Fentress, Batson. 

Fentress, Joshua, died in hospital December, 1862. 

Friedlin, John. 

Fisher, William C, killed January, 1865, Dutch Gap. 

Forward, John W., captured Five Forks. 

Gallop, Samuel, discharged 1862, over age. 

Gallop, John, Si\, 

Gallop, John, Jr., wounded slightly at Cold Harbor, 1864. 

Godfrey, Stephen, died in hospital 1882. 

Godfrey, Mark, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Gordon, Benjamin F., died in hospital December, 1862. 

Hodges, James, captured at Gettysburg and not exchanged, supposed to 
have died in prison. 

Hodges, Joshua, mortally wounded April 5th, 1862, at Williamsburg and 
died in hospital, Richmond. 

Hodges, Patrick H,, captured at Gettysburg. 

Hodges, Josiah. 

Herring, Gideon, captured at Five Forks. 

Halstead, Wilson. 

Herbert, William, captured at Gettysburg and not exchanged. 

Haubury, Samuel W., killed November, 1864, Dutch Gap. 

Jolliff, John W., wounded June 30th, 1862, at Frazier's Farm, wounded 
June 3d, 1864, Cold Harbor. 

Joyues, William P. 

Joynes, Custis T., transferred to artillery. 

Keeling, Robert N. W. , detailed for hospital duty, transferred to Signal 
Corps. 

Kilgore, Malory, captured at Five Forks. 

Liverman, Hardy, wounded June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm and Gettys- 
burg, captured at Gettysburg and not exchanged. 

Liverman, Maurice, killed June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm. 

Miller, Patrick H., promoted 1st Sergeant, wounded and captured at Get- 
tysburg, exchanged and wounded at Dinwiddie Courthouse March 31st, 
1865, and captured at Farmville on retreat. 

Morse, Luke, discharged 1862, disability. 



DISMAL SWAMP RANGERS, CO. A, THIRD VA. REGT. 51 

McGuire, Dudley P., transferred to Kentucky regiment and promoted to 

Assistant Surgeon. 
MeConnell, G. B., transferred to Kentucky regiment. 
Nash, James E. 

Nash, William H., detailed in hospital. 
Peaks, John D., detailed in hospital, Richmond. 
Reed, Thomas P., wounded 1865 on picket, Dutch Gap. 
Simmons, W. A., discharged 1861, disability, and died. 
Sawyer, Kader, killed June 30th, 1K(>2, Frazier's Farm. 
Tucker, James A., died in hospital in Richmond July, 1862. 
Tucker, Willis, discharged 1861, disability. 
Taylor, John. 

White, Edward P., transferred to 14th Virginia Regiment. 
Whitehead, John I)., died in hospital January, 1863. 
Williams. Win. J., promoted 2d Lieutenant, killed June 30th, 1862, at 

Frazier's Farm. 
White, Osceola T., promoted 3d Lieutenant, wounded July 3d, 1863, at 

Gettysburg, killed March 31st, 1865, at Dinwiddle Courthouse. 
Weston, W. W., captured at Five Forks. 
Killed and died, — 20. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE VIRGINIA RIFLEMEN, COMPANY B, THIRD VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was originally the Marion Rifles, which was or- 
ganized in Portsmouth about the year 1856, and was one of the 
original companies in the Third Virginia Regiment. At the 
breaking out of the war it responded to the call of Governor 
Letcher and turned out with about eighty men on the 20th of 
April, 1861. The officers were: 

Captain — Johannis Watson. 

First Lieutenant — William C. Taylor. 

Second Lieutenant — George W. Hutchings. 

Third Lieutenant — Alex. C. Mathieson. 

The company was mustered into service with the rest of the 
Portsmouth companies, and, on the 21st of April, was sent to the 
Naval Hospital point, doing there its full share of duty and re- 
sponding willingly to every call made upon it. On the 17th of 
April the Virginia Convention passed the Ordinance of Secession, 
but directed that it be submitted to a vote of the people on the 
23d of May for ratification or rejection. On that day the Marion 
Rifles were still on duty at the Hospital batteries, and the first 
fifteen men, as their names came on the roll, were allowed to go 
to the Court House to vote. Those men were opposed to the 
State seceding from the Union, and fourteen of the fifteen voted 
against the ratification of the Ordinance of Secession. Before 
their return to camp the news had arrived there as to how they 
had voted, and Colonel Roger A. Pryor, who was then commander 
of the 3d Regiment and of the post, became furiously angry, 
refused to allow any more men from the company to go to town 
to vote, and, upon the return of those who had voted, iiad them 
put in confinement in the lower rooms in the hospital building. 
An election was being held, but Colonel Pryor did not seem will- 
ing that any one in the command should vote who entertained 
different views from his own. He telegraphed that night to Gov- 
ernor Letcher that he had put the men in confinement for voting 
against the Ordinance of Secession and asked what he should do 
with them. Governor Letcher telegraphed back to release them 
immediately ; that the election was intended to be a free one, and 
every citizen had a right to vote as he chose. Colonel Pryor re- 
leased the men and the next day disbanded the company upon 
the charge of " disloyal conduct," and turned its guns over to a 
Petersburg company which had been armed with boarding pikes. 

Many conservative men disapproved of this proceeding, and re- 
garded it as an attempt on the part of Colonel Pryor, at the very 

52 



VIRGINIA RIFLEMEN, CO. B, THIRD VA. REGT, 53 

outset of the Southern Confederacy, to suppress the right of suf- 
frage, and perhaps that officer himself subsequently regretted his 
ill considered action. It lost to the Confederacy and Virginia the 
services of more than fifty men, who would doubtless have proved 
themselves good soldiers. They had followed the lead of Gov- 
ernor Letcher, though opposed to leaving the Union, and in so 
doing had acknowledged that their allegiance was due first to the 
State. They voiced their sentiments by their votes, but would 
have yielded their support to the sovereign authority of the State, 
as thousands of others did, who felt that she was doing wrong in 
seceding. 

On the Oth of June about thirty of the old members of the 
company, with a few additional recruits, reorganized the company 
under the name of the Virginia Riflemen, and elected the follow- 
ing officers : 

Captain, Alonzo B. Jordan. 

First Lieutenant, William C. Taylor ; Second Lieutenant, George 
W. Hutchings; Third Lieutenant, Vernon C. Grant. 

First Sergeant, Alex. C. Mathieson ; Second Sergeant, Robert 
Guv; Third Sergeant, Thomas Gleason ; Fourth Sergeant, Daniel 
T. Brownley. 

First Corporal, Robert A. Hutchings; Second Corporal, Wil- 
liam Outten ; Third Corporal, Robert Walton ; Fourth Corporal, 
William H. Lumber. 

The next day, June 7th, 1861, the company left the Hospital 
point with the regiment for Burwell's Bay, in Isle of Wight 
county. The following September Lieutenant Taylor resigned 
on account of a difficulty with Colonel Pryor, and on the 13th of 
September Captain Jordan resigned to take a position in the corps 
of engineers. Lieutenant Grant's appointment as quartermaster 
of the regiment created another vacancy, and Captain John W. 
II. Wrenn was elected Captain, Second Lieutenant Hutchings was 
promoted to First Lieutenant, and Sergeants Mathieson and Guy 
were elected Second and Third Lieutenants. Captain AVrenn re- 
signed early in 1862, Lieutenant Hutchings was promoted to 
Captain, Lieutenants Mathieson and Guy were advanced one grade 
each, Sergeant Thomas Gleason was elected Third Lieutenant and 
Sergeant Daniel T. Brownley became First Sergeant. The above 
were the officers of the company at the beginning of the campaign 
around Richmond in 1862. 

Captain Hutchings was wounded at Frazier's Farm June 30th, 
1862, but subsequently rejoined the company. He was with it at 
Gettysburg July 3d, 1863, while under the shelling from the 
Federal batteries on Cemetery and Round Top hilts. The 3d 
Regiment was in Kemper's Brigade, Pickett's Division, and was 
kept lying down in line of battle from 10 A. M. to 3 P. M. under 
a scorching July sun, with scarcely a breath of air to temper the 



54 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

heat, and Captain Hutchings and Sergeant Brownley were sun 
struck. A number of the men, too, were overcome by the heat 
and were unable to advance when the charge was ordered. Lieu 
tenant Guy was killed by a shell while the company was in the 
line before the advance was ordered. The shell cut off his arm 
and he died shortly afterwards from the wound. The same shell 
killed Private Joshua Murden and wounded Private Walter Leg- 
gett. Lieutenant Gleason was wounded at Gains' Mill June 27th, 
1862, but recovered and rejoined the company in time to go on 
the Gettysburg campaign. He commanded the company m the 
charge and was captured at the stone wall. He was not exchanged. 
Lieutenant Mathieson was with the company whenever it was 
possible for him to do so, but his health was delicate and he finally 
died in a hospital in Petersburg; early in 1865. 

The company was a small one originally, numbering only fifty- 
seven, rank and file, as appeared from the muster roll for Sep- 
tember, 1861, and it was still further reduced by details, &c. 
Some of the men were excellent mechanics, whose services w r ere 
needed to work upon the vessels being built for the navy, and 
eleven of them were detailed for that purpose, three were dis- 
charged, three were promoted to positions out of the company, 
four were transferred to the navy and three (officers) resigned. 
This brought the effective strength down to thirty-three, and of 
these nine were killed or died, besides one of those" transferred to 
the navy, eight are recorded with having received wounds, and 
five were captured at Gettysburg and" not exchanged. Only 
thirteen of those who remained with the company escaped. At 
the battle of Gettysburg July 3d, 1863, the company had three 
commissioned officers and twelve non-commissioned officers and 
privates present for duty. 

It will be remembered that Pickett's Division arrived on the 
battle field about 10 A. M. and was drawn up in line of battle 
until 3 P. M. before it was ordered to charge, and all that time 
the men in the 3d Virginia Eegiment were exposed to the sun 
and to the enemy's artillery fire. " The two together disabled nine 
of the fifteen men in Company B. Lieutenant Guy was killed, 
as was also Private Joshua Murden, Private Walter Leggett was 
wounded, six of the others were overcome by heat, so that only 
six were in condition to advance when the order was given. Those 
six were Lieutenant Gleason, Sergeant Kobert A. Hutchings, 
Corporal William H. Lumber and Privates William A. Fiske, 
William E. Herbert and William Moran, all of whom, except 
Private Fiske, were captured. Providentially none were struck 
in the advance. Company B was next to the colors, and when 
nearing the stone wall the color sergeant was killed and the colors 
fell with him, but Sergeant Kobert A. Hutchings picked them up 
and carried them to the stone wall from behind which the enemy 



VIRGINIA RIFLEMEN, CO. B, THIRD VA. REGT. 55 

were driven. A full account of this charge will be found in the 
history of the 9th Virginia Regiment, chapter XII, further on in 
this work. The Virginia Riflemen, Company B, participated in 
all the battles and skirmishes in which the 3d Regiment was en- 
gaged up to the winter of 1.884-5, and in proportion to the num- 
ber of men actively on its roll suffered as heavily as any company 
which left the city. Its death rate was about one out of every 
three. 

The company had a second difficulty with Colonel Pryor at the 
reorganization near Yorktown. The men re-enlisted for the war, 
and when doing so re-enlisted with the understanding that the 
company would be assigned to a regiment which Colonel D. J. 
Godwin Avas raising. Colonel Pryor put Captain Hutchings and 
several of the men under arrest upon the charge of mutiny, but 
the matter blew over and the company remained in the 3d Regi- 
ment. 

The company became very much disorganized and reduced on 
the lines in front of Bermuda Hundreds in the winter of 1864-5, 
and being left without a commissioned officer Lieutenant John 
Edwards of Company A, the Dismal Swamp Rangers, was as- 
signed to the command. There were only five men present for 
duty at the battle of Five Forks. These were James Archer, W. 
A. Fiske, William Morrissett, Peter Morrissett and William Wil- 
kins, all of whom, except Archer, fell into the hands of the 
enemy. Private Fiske was wounded. Archer surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Below will be found the names of the members of the company 
as per the muster roll for September, 1861 : 

Captain Alonzo B. Jordan, resigned September 13th, 1861, appointed in 

Engineer Corps. 
Captain John W. H. Wrenn, elected Sept. 13th, 1861, resigned 1862. 
First Lieutenant William C. Taylor, resigned 1861, September. 
Second Lieutenant George W. Hutchings, elected Captain, wounded June 

30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm. 
Third Lieutenant Vernon C. Grant, appointed Quartermaster of regiment. 
First Sergeant Alex. C. Mathieson, elected Lieutenant, died in hospital 1865, 

Petersburg. 
Second Sergeant Robert Guy, elected Lieutenant, killed July 3d, 1863, 

Gettysburg. 
Third Sergeant Thomas Gleason, elected Lieutenant, wounded July 27th, 

1862, Gains' Mill, captured July 5th, 1863, Gettysburg and not ex- 
changed. 
Fourth Sergeant Daniel T. Brownley, promoted to First Sergeant. 
First Corporal Robert A. Hutchings, promoted Second Sergeant, captured 

July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, with colors of the 3d Regiment. 
Second Corporal William Outten, promoted Third Sergeant. 
Third Corporal Robert Walton, detailed 1862 to work in Navy Yard. 
Fourth Corporal Wm. H. Lumber, captured at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863. 
Musician James Archer, captured April 1st, 1865, Five Forks. 
Musician Abraham Choat, discharged 1861, being a slave. 

PRIVATES. 

Anderson, Charles. 

Borum, Edward C, detailed 1862 to work in Navy Yard. 



56 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Borum, John, detailed 1863 to work in Navy Yard. 

Bush, Joseph M., detailed 1862 to work in Navy Yard. 

Bowen, Hine, wounded June 30th, 1862,' Frazier's Farm. 

Broughton, Joseph. 

Butler, John. 

Butters, Francis H., detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

Bright, John T. , captured in Ma ryland September, 1 862, and not heard from. 

Butler, Thomas, discharged 1862, under ago. 

Davis, John W., detailed 1863 to work in Navy Yard. 

Dunn, Edward, appointed Regimental Drum Major June 22d, 1861. 

Etheredge, Cornelius, transferred to Navy. 

Fiske, William A., wounded April 1st, 1865, Five Forks, and captured. 

FRchett, George, detailed 1863 to work in Navy Yard. 

Grimes, Bartlett, wounded September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg, and enlisted 

in Navy. 
Herbert, Win. E., captured July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, and not exchanged. 
Host, George. 

Hawkins, Win,, transferred to Navy and killed at Little Washington, N. C. 
Hall, Henrv C, died in hospital. 

Heath, William, killed August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 
Jarvis, Benjamin, detailed 1862 to work in Navy Yard. 
King, Charles A., detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Jordan, James, killed June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm. 
Leggett, Walter, wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 
Loudoun, James T., killed June 29th, 1862, Cold Harbor. 
Moran, William, captured July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, not exchanged. 
Morrisett, William, captured at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 
Morrisett, Peter, captured at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 
Murden, Joshua, killed July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 
Norsworthy, Francis. 
Parker, William, wounded June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm, transferred 

to Signal Corps. 
Parsons, William H., transferred to Navy. 
Powell, Benjamin F., wounded slightly twice. 
Read, Charles, wounded June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm, and died in 

hospital from wound. 
Simmons, Thomas, died in hospital 1862. 
Smith, George A., transferred to Navy. 
Thomas, William, detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Wilkins, William, promoted to Commissary Sergeant, captured at Five 

Forks April 1st, 1865. 
Wilkins, Andrew, discharged June 20th, 1861, disability. 
White, Charles. 
Killed and died, — 10. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE NATIONAL GRAYS, COMPANY H, THIRD VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was organized in Portsmouth in May, 1856, and 
at once a friendly rivalry sprang up between it and the Old 
Dominion Guard as to which company should attain the largest 
number of members and the greatest proficiency in drilling. Cap- 
tain P. II. Daugherty was the first captain of the company, and 
was succeeded by Captain John E. Deans, who continued in com- 
mand until the reorganization in 1802, when he was not re- 
elected. It was handsomely uniformed in gray, and its soldierly 
appearance on parade was marked At the time of the John 
Brown war, in 1859, the Grays volunteered their services and 
were sent to Harper's Ferry, taking with them on the trip five 
commissioned officers, ten non-commissioned officers, forty-three 
privates, two non-commissioned staff, commissary and ordnance 
sergeants, and two musicians, a total of sixty-two men. They 
were on duty at Charlestown from November 27th until Decem- 
ber 20th, and returned home after John Brown was hung. 

When Governor Letcher issued his orders on the 20th of April, 
1861, for the troops in this city to take up arms the National 
Grays were as ready to serve their State as they were in 1859, 
and the company turned out with full ranks under the following 
officers : 

Captain — John E. Deans. 

First Lieutenant — James Dongan. 

Second Lieutenant — William F. Whitehurst. 

Third Lieutenant — George W. Mitchell. 

Fourth Lieutenant — William F. White. 

There was no authority in military law for the position of 4th 
Lieutenant, but as the company numbered about a hundred members 
before the war and wanted an officer to command the fourth section, 
Lieutenant White was given that honorary title, but with the be- 
ginning of actual war the fictitious had to give way to the real, 
and the honorary position of 4th Lieutenant passed out of exist- 
ence. Lieutenant White joined Company E, 61st Virginia, and 
was subsequently promoted to Captain of one of the companies in 
the 6th Virginia Regiment. The company was ordered to the 
Gosport Navy Yard on the 21st of April, 1861, and remained 
there doing guard duty until August, wdien orders were received 
to rejoin the regiment, the 3d Virginia, at Burwell's Bay, in 
Isle of Wight county. The 3d Regiment left the Naval Hospital 
batteries on the 7th of June, but the Grays, Company H, were 
continued in the Navy Yard. While thus engaged on guard duty 

5 57 



58 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

news arrived of the battle of Manassas on the 17th of July, and 
fancying that the war would end before they would have an op- 
portunity to do any fighting, the Grays asked to be ordered to 
their regiment. Their first application was denied, but their 
second attempt was more successful, and General Hnger ordered 
them to report to Colonel Pryor. They left the Navy Yard and 
marched to the ferry wharf under an escort of the 3d Georgia 
Kegiment, crossed to Norfolk and took the Norfolk and Peters- 
burg cars for Zuni, from which station they marched to Camp 
Cooke, near Burwell's Bay, and from there they moved to Camp 
Pemberton, near Smithfield. Death made its first appearance in 
the ranks of the company while at Camp Pemberton. Julian 
Peed, one -of the youngest members of the company, died there 
in the hospital in 1861, and Corporal Kobert A. Sherwood died 
in 1862. 

Nothing of special note occurred there until the middle of 
March, when, upon the landing of General McClellan's army at 
Fortress Monroe, March 17th, 1862, the 3d Kegiment was carried 
across James river in canal barges to reinforce General Magruder, 
who was holding the Confederate lines from Yorktown to War- 
wick river. While getting on the barges Captain Deans fell 
overboard from the wharf. He was dressed in full uniform and 
was weighed down by his sword and pistol, and had a narrow 
escape from drowning. The regiment remained on the north side 
of the river only one day, when it was taken back to Camp 
Cooke, but was ferried over again to General Magruder's assist- 
ance on the day following. This proves that the Confederate 
counsels at that time were attended with much doubt and uncer- 
tainty. However, upon the second trip the regiment was re- 
tained on the north side and was attached to General Colston's 
Brigade of Longstreet's Division. 

The company was on duty at Dam No. 2 when General Mc- 
Clellan made his first attempt to advance upon General Magru- 
der's lines, and assisted in repulsing his attempt to cross the 
stream, and upon the strength of this repulse General McClellan 
halted his troops and proceeded to dislodge General Magruder by 
regular approaches and a series of earthworks. The regiment 
was ordered into the battle of Williamsburg April 5th, 1862, late 
in the afternoon and held its position until the battle ended and 
General Johnston had made all of his arrangements to fall back 
towards Richmond, when it was ordered to retire. 

While the Grays were in the lines at Yorktown an incident 
happened which, in the lapse of time that has intervened since 
then, becomes laughable and proves how unreasonable men can 
become when they are clothed with authority over other men. 
While the regiment was at Camp Pemberton Major Bradford, 
who was mustering officer for Huger's Division, visited the camp 
for the purpose of ascertaining how many of the men were will- 



NATIONAL GRAYS, CO. H, THIRD VA. REGT. 59 

ing to re-enlist, as they were Hearing the expiration of the year 
for which they had been originally mustered into service, and in- 
formed them that they could re-enlist in any command they 
might desire. Colonel Pryor was very unpopular with the 
Grays and they were very anxious to be removed from under his 
command, consequently, though all of the them re- enlisted, 
most of them expressed a desire to re-enlist in some of the 
Portsmouth companies which were in other regiments. They 
thought Colonel Pryor was too overbearing. 

On the 19th of April, 1862, the company was on picket duty 
and was relieved on the 20th, marched to their quarters and 
stacked arms. This was just one year after the original muster of 
the company into service, and, as has been observed before, most 
of the men had re-enlisted into other organizations. Colonel 
Pryor had the company mustered and said to them : 

" I understand some of you men want to go home.'" 

One of them answered: "No, sir, we do not want to go home, 
but we want to go to the companies in which we re-enlisted.'" 

Colonel Pryor became very angry at this reply, told the com- 
pany a battle was about to be fought and accused the men of 
wanting to get away to avoid that battle, and asked how many 
were willing to remain until after the battle. 

This taunting speech aroused the anger of the men, and Lieu- 
tenant Lingo, speaking for the others, said : 

" Colonel Pryor, we are not leaving on account of the enemy 
or the approaching battle, but we do not desire to serve any 
longer under your command, but if we are put under the imme- 
diate command of Major Scott (the Major of the 3d Regiment) 
every man will cheerfully remain here until the battle is over. 1 ' 

Colonel Pryor then said : "All who desire to be placed under 
the orders of Major Scott will step three paces to the front." The 
whole company, with the exception of four men, marched promptly 
the three steps, whereupon Colonel Pryor ordered Major Scott to 
march them to Yorktown and put them in jail upon the charge 
of mutiny. They remained in jail three hours, when they were 
marched to the headquarters of General D. H. Hill, placed in a 
pen with a rope stretched around it, and put under the guard of 
a company of North Carolina troops. Shortly afterwards the men 
were sent to work upon the breastworks as a punishment. Lieu- 
tenant Dongan ventured to protest against this treatment of his 
men, but was placed under arrest for it. The officers of the regi- 
ment took the matter in hand and brought about a settlement. A 
law was read to the men which the Confederate Congress had 
passed, and of which they had been ignorant, requiring men who 
re-enlisted to re-enlist in their original commands, so the Grays 
remained in the 3d Pegiment and Colonel Pryor apologized to the 
company for the harsh language and treatment he had used to- 
wards the men. 



60 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

At the reorganization of the company on the Yorktown Penin- 
sula, the following officers were elected : 

Captain — John D. Whitehead. 

First Lieutenant — George W. Mitchell. 

Second Lieutenant — William S. Cooke. 

Third Lieutenant — John W. Lingo. 

After the battle of Fredericksburg Lieutenant Cooke was dis- 
charged under a surgeon's certificate of disability and Lieutenant 
Mitchell was killed at Gettysburg under the shelling immediately 
before the charge of Pickett's Division July 3d, 1803. Orderly 
Sergeant John C. Fulford was elected Lieutenant, and Lieutenant 
Lingo also having been discharged upon a surgeon's certificate of 
disability, Lieutenant Fulford became First Lieutenant. Captain 
Whitehead was among those who readied the stone wall at Get- 
tysburg alive, but w r as captured there. He was exchanged in 
March, 1865. 

The company had six Orderly Sergeants during the war, viz.: 
William P. Sturtevant, who was discharged for over age the first 
year of the war; William S. Cooke, promoted to Lieutenant 1862; 
"Richard Malione, killed at Frazier's Farm June 30th, 1862; Ben- 
jamin Mitchell, died in hospital 1863; John C. Fulford, promoted 
to Lieutenant, and Frank T. Tyran, who held the position when 
the war ended. 

' Captain Whitehead lived through the war and escaped without 
a wound, notwithstanding the many battles in wdiich he led his 
company. After the war he moved to Richmond, and when the 
1st Virginia Regiment of that city was re-organized he was elected 
its Lieutenant Colonel. He was a gallant soldier and a good man, 
and w T as well worthy to lead the Grays. 

M. D. Montserrate of the Grays was acting Sergeant Major of 
the regiment, and just before the battle of Five Forks was ap- 
pointed color bearer. He carried the colors in that fight and was 
wounded twice, once in the shoulder and once in the forearm, but 
continued carrying the colors until he was surrounded and cap- 
tured. John Yost carried the colors of the 3d Regiment at the 
battle of second Manassas, and was the first man in the regiment 
to reach a Federal battery which it was charging. 

The following men were present with the company at Gettys- 
burg and participated in the charge of Pickett's Division : 

Captain John D. Whitehead, captured. 

Lieutenant George W. Mitchell, killed under the shelling. 

PRIVATES. 

Ashton, Edgar, Keeling, William, wounded and 

Arrington, James E i? captured, 

Barrett, Solomon H., Lash, James, 

Barrett, George, captured, Loomis, James W., 

Beeks, William H., Mahone, Harrison, wounded and 

Barrom, Osceola, wounded, captured, 



NATIONAL GRAYS, CO. H, THIRD VA. REGT, 61 

Goodson, Calvin, wounded and McHorney, William IT., 

captured, O'Donnell, Patrick, 

Gay, Henry B.^ Smith, James, wounded, 

Hanralian, George, Stoakes, Edward, wounded, 

Howard, James T. B., captured, Tee, John C, captured, 
Hickman, Joseph, Weddon, John K., 

Jenkins, Miles, "West, William, 

Kirby, Johnson, Yost, John, 

Below will be found a copy of the names of the members of 
the company as per the muster roll for July and August, 1861 : 
Ca,ptain John E. Deans, dropped at reorganization, 1862. 

" John D. Whitehead, elected Captain at reorganization. 
First Lieutenant James W. Dongan, dropped at reorganization, 1862. 
George W. Mitchell, killed July ad, 1868, at Gettsburg. 
John C. Fulford, surrendered at Appomattox. 
Second " William F. Whitehurst, dropped at reorganization, 1862. 

" William S. Cooke, discharged for disability, 1863. 

Third John W. Lingo, discharged for disability, 1864. 

Fourth " William F. White, promoted Captain Co. B, 6th Virginia- 

First Sergeant William P. Sturtevant, discharged for over age, 1862. 
u ;< Richard Mahone, killed June 30th, 1862, at Frazier's Farm. 

" F. T. Tynan, promoted First Sergeant. 
" Benjamin Mitchell, died in hospital, 1862. 
Sergeant William H. Bloxom, promoted to Ordnance Sergeant of Regiment. 
Corporal William R. Hanraban, transferred to Signal Corps, 1862. 

" Robert A. Sherwood, died at Camp Pemberton, 1862. 
Musician Henry Foils. 

Johnson Tabb. 
" William Brown. 

PRIVATES. 

Ashton, Edgar, wounded at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863. 

Ashton, J. V. B., detached April, 1861, in employment of railroad company. 

Arlington, James E. 

Atkinson, George W., discharged 1861, under age. 

Barrett, George, captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Barrett, Solomon H., wounded August 30th, 186:!, Second Manassas. 

Beeks, William H. 

Boswick, William, discharged 1861. 

Barrom, Osceola, wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Bland, Thomas, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

Culpepper, David, wounded September 17th, 1862, at Sha/rpsburg. 

Culpepper, Joshua, died from wounds received at Gaines' Mill June 27th, 

1862. 
Culpepper, Joseph, wounded June 27th, 1862, Gaines' Mill. 
Coston, Thomas. 

Cutherel, Arthur, transferred to Company B. 
Deans, Robert E., promoted Sergeant, wounded and disabled June 27th, 

1862, Gaines' Mill. 
Deans, Joseph, discharged 1861, disability. 
Deans, Thomas H., discharged August 23. 1861, disability. 
Dolly, William. 
Etheredge, John E. 
Edgar, George, detached 1862. 

Franklin, Thomas, killed June, 1862, at Frazier's Farm. 
Friedlin, Adolph, killed June, 1862, at Frazier's Farm. 
Flemming, Thomas, discharged for disability 1861. 
Flemming, Caleb, discharged for disability 1861. 
Grimes, James E., killed June 30th, 1862, at Frazier's Farm. 
Goodson, Calvin, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 



62 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Gay, Henry B., wounded and disabled June, 1864, at Turkey Ridge. 

Gleason, George W., severely wounded 1862 and detached. 

Graham, Thomas. 

Harley, Thomas D., discharged August 19th, 1801, disability. 

Hanrahan, George. 

Hunley, John, discharged 1862, over age. 

Howard, James T. B., captured at Gettysburg. 

Hawkins, William, transferred to Company B. 

Hickman, Joseph, captured at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 

Hoops, John, detached 1862 to work on ordnance. 

Host, George, transferred to Company B. 

Hoffler, Elias. 

Herbert, William E., transferred to Company B, 3d Virginia 

Joyner, Cordy J., detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

.Jenkins, Miles. 

Kirby, Johnson, wounded July 3d, 1863. at Gettysburg, and wounded aud 

disabled April, 1865, at hive Forks 
Keeling, William, wounded and disabled July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Lee, Charles P., detached 1861, engineer on Seaboard railroad. 
Lash, Joseph. 

Linscott, David, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Lash, James. 
Loomis, James W.- 
Loudon, J. 'I 1 ., transferred to Co. B, killed June 30, 1862, at Frazier'sFarm. 
Merkie, George. 
Monserrate, M D., promoted Color Bearer of Regiment, wounded April 1st, 

1865. at Five Forks. 
Mahoney, James H, discharged for disability. 
Mahone, Harrison, wounded, disabled and captured July 3d at Gettysburg 

and died in 1865 from disease contracted at Point Lookout. 
Mahone, Wilmer, died in hospital in Richmond 1862. 

Mctlorney, William H, severely wounded June 30th, 1862, Frazier's Farm. 
McElwee, Andrew, transferred to Maryland line 1863. 
McFarland, William. 

Mclntyre, George, killed September 17th, 1862, at Sharpsbnrg. 
Nichols, Thomas J., discharged 1861 for disability. 
Nichols, Jerry, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Nottingham, Jacob, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. • 
(TDonnell, Patrick, wounded December 13th, 1862, at Fredericksburg, and 

wounded and disabled March 31st, 1865, at Dinwiddie Court House. 
Peed, Julian, died at Camp Pemberton 1*61. 

Rowan, William H, severely wounded June, 1862, Seven Days battle?. 
Roud, Charles, detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Roberts, Thomas, detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Rowell, William, died in hospital in Richmond 1862. 
Scott, Robert G., discharged 1861, over age. 

Smith, James, Third Sergeant, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Stoakes, Isaiah, Second Sergeant, discharged 1861 , over age. 
Savage, Thomas. 

Stoakes, Edwd., wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, died in hospital 1864. 
Tee, John C, severely wounded June 27th, 1862, Gaines' Mill. 
Tabb, Thomas, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Tabb, Henry A., detached 1861 to work; in Navy Yard. 
Thomas, Samuel, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Veal, James. 

Volkman, C. W., detailed 1862. 
White, John S., discharged 1862, over age. 
Weddon, John R. 
West, William E. 

Welslager, George, discharged 1861, disability. 

Yost, John, wounded and disabled March 31st, 1865, at Dinwiddie C. H. 
Killed and died— 15 



CHAPTER VI. 

THIRD VIRGINIA REGIMENT COLSTON'S, PRYOr's, KEMPER'S BRIGADES. 

longstreet's, Anderson's, pickett's divisions. 

The 3d Virginia Regiment, previous to the breaking out of the 
late war, was composed of seven companies, five from the city of 
Portsmouth and two from Norfolk county, but with the com- 
mencement of hostilities some of the companies were transferred 
to other regiments, and only three of the original companies were 
retained in it. These were the Dismal Swamp Rangers of Nor- 
folk county, which became Company A; the Marion Rifles of 
Portsmouth, Company B, and the National Grays of Portsmouth, 
Company II. The remaining companies of the regiment were 
from neighboring counties. Company C was from Petersburg, 
Company D from Dinwiddie, Companies E and G from South- 
ampton, Company F from Nansemond, Company I from Isle of 
Wight and Company K from Halifax. 

The old field officers of the regiment were removed by Governor 
Letcher and assigned to other commands, and Colonel Roger A. 
Pryor was assigned to it as Colonel, with Lieutenant Colonel 
Joseph Mayo and Major J. V. Scott. 

The regiment was stationed at various batteries in the vicinity 
of Portsmouth, with headquarters at the Naval Hospital, until the 
7th of June, 1861, when it moved to Burwell's Bay, and shortly 
afterwards to Camp Pemberton, near Smithfield. Company H 
remained behind doing guard duty in the Navy Yard until August, 
when it joined the regiment at Camp Pemberton. 

About the middle of March, 18(32, the regiment was ferried 
across James River to reinforce General Magruder at Yorktown. 
General McClellan had transported his army from the vicinity of 
Washington to Fortress Monroe with a view to reaching Rich- 
mond by the way of the Peninsula between the James and York 
rivers. Shortly after reaching Yorktown the 3d Regiment w x as 
assigned to Colston's Brigade, Longstreet's Division. Its first 
engagement with the enemy was on the 5th of April, 1802. The 
regiment was on duty at Dam No. 2, and the advance of McClel- 
lan's army attempted to cross Warwick river at that point but 
was driven back. It was in consequence of this repulse that 
McClellan decided to assail the Confederate lines by regular ap- 
proaches. He therefore halted his troops and began building 
earthworks. 

General Johnston, who relieved General Magruder in command 
of the Confederate forces, decided to withdraw from Yorktown 
and fall back towards Richmond, and in consequence oft his de-. 

63 



64 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

termination the troops moved out of their works on the 4th of 
May and began their retrograde movement. MeClellan followed 
after, and pressing so closely upon the retiring Confederates as to 
endanger their wagon train, General Johnston halted a portion of 
his army under Longstreet to check the pursuit. Longstreet made 
his dispositions for battle near Williamsburg, and the Federal ad- 
vance was so roughly handled that it was driven back upon the 
main army with the loss of twelve hundred prisoners, besides killed 
and wounded. The affair took place on the 5th, and was a com- 
plete victory for the Confederates. The 3d Regiment participated 
in the battle. 

After the army reached the vicinity of Richmond Colonel Pryor 
was promoted to Brigadier General and given command of the 
Brigade, and Lieutenant Colonel Mayo became Colonel. The 
Brigade was composed of the 3rd Virginia, the 14th Alabama, 
the 14th Louisiana and 2d Florida Regiments and 1st Louisiana 
Battalion. It participated in the battle of Seven Pines May 31st, 
1862, in which, had General Huger acted with more promptness 
in moving his troops and beginning the attack, Casey's Division 
of the Federal army might have been destroyed instead of simply 
defeated. 

The regiment, as a part of Longstreet' s Division, was engaged 
in the battles of Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Cold Harbor and 
Frazier's Farm. In this last battle its losses were very heavy. 
At the battle of Malvern Hill Longstreet' s Division was held in 
reserve on account of its active participation in the previous 
fighting. 

The next encounter with the enemy was at Thoroughfare Gap 
August 29th, where Longstreet brushed aside a force of Federals 
who sought to hold the Gap and thereby prevent him from uniting 
with Jackson's Corps at Manassas. Lee was chasing General Pope 
towards Washington. Jackson had gotten in his rear at Manassas 
and was holding'his ground, waiting for the arrival of General 
Lee with Longstreet's Corps to give Pope a decisive blow. The 
battle of Second Manassas was fought on the 30th. Pryor's Bri- 
gade was a part of the right wing under Longstreet, and was in 
the front line. The brigade advanced across an open field and 
through a piece of woods, beyond which was another held, and on 
the farther side of this field was a battery of Federal field artillery 
and a double line of infantry. In marching through the woods 
the brigade became very much broken and a halt was called to 
rectify the alignment. While this was being done the 3d Regi- 
ment became separated from the rest of the brigade. While the 
allignment was being perfected General Pryor rode up to Colonel 
Mayo, commanding'the 3d Regiment, and requested him to take 
command of the brigade, as he was too much exhausted to go any 
further. 



THE THIRD VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 65 

During the confusion the 3d Regiment became separated from 
the rest of the brigade, and Major Urquhart, upon whom the 
command devolved, seeing General Pender's Brigade coming up 
on his left, reported to that officer and asked permission to charge 
with him and be accounted for in his report. General Pender 
acceded to the request and the 3d Regiment, joining on to the 
right of Pender's Brigade, charged with it. As soon as it passed 
out of the woods it became exposed to a very heavy fire of mus- 
ketry and artillery, which, however, did not stay its onward rush. 
John Yost, of the Portsmouth National Grays, Company H, car- 
ried the colors of the 3d Regiment, and was the first man to reach 
the Federal battery which had been playing upon them. The 
cannoneers were driven from their guns, and the infantry being 
pushed back at the same time, the battery was captured. A dis- 
pute arose between the 3d Regiment and Pender's Brigade as to 
which had captured it, but there can be little doubt that John 
Yost was the first man to reach it, and that he planted the colors 
of the 3d Virginia there, and the regiment was at his heels. 

The regiment took part in the investment and capture of Har- 
per's Ferry September 14th, 1862. Was at the battle of Sharps- 
burg on the 17th of September and Fredericksburg on the 13th 
of .December. On the 10th of November the regiment was de- 
tached from Pryor's Brigade, by order of General Lee, and at- 
tached to Kemper's Brigade, Pickett's Division. At Fredericks- 
burg while the Federal Corps of Generals Couch, Wilcox and 
Hooker were making their assaults upon the positions held by 
McLaws' and Ransom's Divisions, Kemper's and Jenkins' Bri- 
gades, of Pickett's Division, were sent to reinforce Ransom's Di- 
vision, should he need their assistance, and just before the last 
charge of Hooker's Corps the 3d Regiment was sent by General 
Ransom to relieve the 21th North Carolina Regiment of Ransom's 
Brigade, which had been in the trenches for forty-eight hours, 
and, shortly after it had relieved the North Carolinians,. it con- 
tributed to the repulse of the last effort of Burnside to carry 
General Lee's position. For fuller details of this battle see Chap- 
ter XXIV., 61st Virginia Regiment, post — . 

The 3rd Regiment remained in the trenches all night, in antici- 
pation of a renewal of the attack the next day, and all through 
the night the Federals were busy removing their wounded from 
the front of the Confederate works, where they had fallen in their 
repeated charges during the day. The groans of the wounded and 
dying, and the appeals for assistance were dismal beyond descrip- 
tion. The night was intensely cold, and the Confederates made 
no effort to interrupt the work of the Federal ambulance corps. 

The 3d Regiment left the vicinity of Fredericksburg in Feb- 
ruary, 1863, with Pickett's Division, for the neighborhood of 
Suffolk. The detachment, composed of Pickett's and Hood's 



66 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Divisions, under Longstreet, and numbering some twelve or thir- 
teen thousand men, were on a huge foraging expedition, but their 
presence at Suffolk greatly alarmed Major General John Peck, 
commander of the Federal forces in that locality. On the 12th 
of April at 3 o'clock P. M. he telegraphed General Hooker, near 
Fredericksburg, to send a corps to reinforce him, that Longstreet 
had thirty thousand men with him. At 9 P. M. he telegraphed 
that Longstreet had thirty-live thousand men, and at 11 P. M. 
telegraphed that he had thirty-eight thousand men and one hun- 
dred and fifty guns. There was considerable skirmishing going 
on around Suffolk until the 4th of May, when, having accom- 
plished the object for which he was sent there, Longstreet broke 
camp and returned to the Rappahannock and rejoined General 
Lee. 

After the defeat of Hooker at the battle of Chancellorsville, 
which was fought while Hood's and Pickett's Divisions were de- 
tached at Suffolk, General Lee moved his army into Pennsylvania 
and Hooker's army was withdrawn from Virginia to protect 
Washington. As is told in history, the two armies met at Gettys- 
burg. The 3d Regiment was in Pickett's Division, and reached 
the battle field about 10 o'clock on the morning of July 3d, and 
was placed in line of battle in an open field, where it remained 
under the broiling sun for five hours before it was ordered to 
charge. The sun proved a valuable ally for the enemy, for scarcely 
half of the men in the regiment were able to move when the ad- 
vance was ordered. (This charge is fully described in Chapter 
XII., the 9th Virginia Regiment, post.) 

Returning from Gettysburg the 3d Regiment participated in 
the cavalry tights at Williamsport, while the army was waiting 
there for the Potomac river to subside so as to become fordable, 
and, upon the return of the army to Virginia, was sent with 
Pickett's Division to North Carolina. It took part in the storm- 
ing and capture of Plymouth and the capture of Little Washing- 
ton, and was ordered back to Virginia to unite with the forces 
under Beauregard, which were being concentrated to check But- 
ler's advance from Bermuda Hundreds towards Richmond. When 
the train carrying the brigade from Weldon to Petersburg reached 
Belfield, information had been received that a raiding party of 
Federal cavalry was approaching that locality. The 3d Regiment 
was left behind to protect the railroad bridge and the rest of the 
brigade kept on to Petersburg, arriving in time to assist in the 
defeat of Butler at Drury's Bluff on the 16th of May, 1864. 

The regiment rejoined the brigade later in May and was present 
in line of battle at Cold Harbor and Turkey Ridge from the latter 
part of May to the 13th of June, when Grant again moved off to 
the left and crossed James river below City Point. It crossed 
James river on pontoons near Drury's Bluff on the 16th and par- 



THE THIRD VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 67 

ticipated in the battle of Chester Station between Pickett's Divi- 
sion and Butler's troops. Butler was driven back over three lines 
of field works, behind each of which he endeavored to make a 
stand, and finally retired behind liis fortifications at Bermuda 
Hundreds. 

On the 26th of March, 1865, Pickett's Division was moved out 
of the lines in front of Bermuda Hundreds and sent to the ex- 
treme right of the army, defeated Sherman's cavalry at Dinwiddie 
Court House on the 31st, and the next day was caught in the trap 
at Five Forks and almost annihilated. The 3d Regiment was 
commanded that day by Captain Thomas M. Hodges of Company 
A, and enough of them escaped to keep up their organization. 
It was at Saylor's Creek on the 6th of April and participated in 
the defeat of Humphrey's Division at Farmville on the 7th, the 
]ast triumph of the Army of Northern Virginia. And all that was 
left of it surrendered on the 9th at Appomattox Court House. 

The 3d Regiment took part in the following battles: 
Dam No. 2, April 5, 1862. Suffolk, April, 1863. 

Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. 

Seven Pines^ May 31, 1862. Williamsport, July, 1863. 

Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862. Plymouth, 1864. ' 
Gaines' Mill June 27, 1862. Little Washington, 1864. 

Savage's Station, June 29, 1862. 2d Cold Harbor, June 1-3, 1864. 
Frazier's Farm, June 30, 1862. Turkey Ridge, June 3-13, 1864. 
Thoroughfare Gap, August 29, Chester Station, June 16, 1864. 

1862. Dinwiddie C. H., Mar. 31, 1865. 

Second Manassas, Aug. 30, 1862. Five Forks, April 1, 1865. 
Harper's Ferry, Sept, 14, 1862. Saylor's Creek, April 6, 1865. 
Sharpsburg, Sept. 17, 1862. Farmville, April 7, 1865. 

Fredericksburg, Dec, 13, 1862. Appomattox C. H., Apr. 9, 1865. 

The battle of Gaines' Mill, fought on the 27th of June, 1862, 
in which the 3d Regiment took quite an active part, was one of 
the most brilliant victories achieved by the Confederates during 
the war. The day before McClellan had been dislodged from his 
advanced position at Mechanicsville, and, falling back to Gaines' 
Mill, withdrew troops from his left wing and heavily reinforced 
his position there. Strong works were built to protect his men, 
and during the larger portion of the battle the Confederates were 
engaged storming those entrenchments. There were in reality 
two battles that day. The first is designated the battle of Ellison's 
Mill, and General Pryor, in his official report of it, says : 

" In this affair at Ellison's Mill my command sustained a consid- 
erable loss. The battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Coppins and the 
3d Regiment Virginia Volunteers were especially distinguished." 

The enemy fell back about a mile and a half and assumed a 
new position on the farm of Dr. Gaines, where, receiving heavy 
reinforcements, a new stand was made, Pryor's brigade arrived 



68 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861- 



in front of this position at 11 o'clock A. M. and advanced to at- 
tack, but finding the enemy too strongly posted, retired. A 
second attempt was likewise unsuccessful, and General Pry or 
waited for reinforcements. Being joined later by the brigades 
of Wilcox, Featherstone and Pickett, another charge was ordered 
and the victory was won. The enemy was driven in confusion 
from their works and his artillery fell into the hands of the vic- 
torious Confederates. General Pryor's report says : " In this 
brilliant fight my brigade bore a not unworthy part. Although 
they had been engaged with the enemy from the earliest dawn, 
and had already suffered serious losses, they were not behind the 
foremost in the final victorious charge.'" 

At Frazier's Farm, also, the 3d Regiment played an important 
part. Pryor's brigade was ordered into the tight about 4 o'clock 
P. M., and was actively engaged until the enemy retreated, leav- 
ing prisoners and cannon in the hands of the Confederates, and 
leaving his wounded behind. The losses of the brigade during: 
these engagements were heavy. The 3d Regiment had nineteen 
killed and seventy-eight wounded. 

The regiment surrendered at Appomattox Court House April 
9th, 1865, with three commissioned officers and sixty -two enlisted 
men. The following is a copy of the official roll : 



COMPANY A. 

Captain Thos. M. Hodges, 

Private John W. Forward, 

" Mark Godfrey. 

COMPANY B. 

Private James H. Archer. 
company c. 

Private John R. Carr, 
" Robert Lewis, 
" H. A. Liverman, 
" Win. Crowder, 

COMPANY d. 

Corporal Leroy W. Beal, 
u Benj. Cleary, 

Private Waverly Barham, 
u L. Barrett, 
" Thos. L. Cleary, 
" M. R. Edwards, 
" James C. Lane, 
" Robert A. Hood, 
" George F. Rawles, 
" Ben O. Simons, 
" T. R. Wells, 



COMPANY D. 

Private Geo. W. Williams, 
" II. Iv. Williams, 

" R. K Williams, 

COMPANY e. 

Sergeant T. Lifsy, 

^ T. Blankenship, 

Private John G. Bristoe, 
" Charles E. Wells. 

COMPANY F. 

Captain P. E. Wilson, 
Sergeant James M. Emmerson, 
Private Henry Humph] et. 

company a. 
Sergeant D. C. Reid, 
Corporal Lewis Marks, 
Private John A. Critchlow, 
" Wm. T. Critchlow, 
" Thomas H. Gray, 
" Andrew J. Harrison, 
" Jesse Johnson, 
" E.G. Joiner, 
" J. R. Niles, 



THE THIRD VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 



69 



COMPANY G-. 

Private Thomas E. Pate, 
" George A. Powell, 
" George W. Simons, 
" Joseph Turner, 
" John Turner, 
" Joseph A. Worrell. 

COMPANY n. 

Lieutenant John C. Fulford, 

Private II. P. Foils, 

" W. R. Gaultney, 
" M. Jenkins, 
" W. H. Keeling, 
" W. H. Rowan, 
" J. M. Tabb. 



COMPANY I. 

Private W. A. Durham, 
u P. D. Mitchell. 

COMPANY K. 

Sergeant John A. Allen, 

Private Alex. Bray, 
" Z. Dunnaway, 
" R. T. Elliott, 

" *W. J. Fletcher, 
" Charles F. Guthrie, 
" John D. Peck, 
" James A. Seams ter, 
" P. R. T. Tuck, 
" John P. Wilburn, 
"' W. W. Wilson, 
" Nat J. Williams, 
" R. R. James. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CAPTAIN JOHN H. MYERS' COMPANY, CO. E, SIXTH VA. REGIMENT. 

This company had a short life and was the victim of too strict 
discipline. It was organized in Portsmouth immediately after 
the burning of the Navy Yard by Captain Myers, who was an 
Orderly Sergeant in the battalion of marines stationed in the 
Navy Yard, but being a Virginian and unwilling to tight against 
his State, he managed to make his escape when Commodore Mc- 
Cauley moved off with the Pawnee and Cumberland, and re- 
mained behind. He was an excellent drill master and had no 
difficulty in raising a company of which he was elected Captain. 
It was regularly mustered into the Confederate service and was 
assigned to the 6th Virginia Regiment as Company E. The regi- 
ment was then under command of Colonel William Mahone. The 
officers were: 

Captain — John H. Myers. 

First Lieutenant, Virginius C. Cooke; Second Lieutenant, V. 
O. Cassell. 

First Sergeant, B. J. Accinelly ; Second Sergeantt, Enos Mur- 
phy ; Third Sergeant, Richard L). Brown ; Fourth Sergeant, 
Chas. Syer. 

The company was on duty with the regiment in the entrenched 
camp between Norfolk and Seawell's Point, but Captain Myers 
undertook to carry out with the volunteers the same methods 
which he had been accustomed to put into operation in the ma- 
rine corps in the Navy, and every infraction of the rules, how- 
ever slight, or any inattention to dress or parade or drill was vis- 
ited by the severest punishment in his power to inflict. If a man 
was absent from a roll call Captain Myers would report him as a 
deserter and wanted to offer a reward for his arrest and return to 
camp, said reward to be deducted from his pay. Matters in the 
company became so unbearable that nearly every man in it ap- 
plied for transfers to other commands, and as the best solution of 
the dilemma the Colonel recommended that the company be dis- 
banded. Both of the Lieutenants had resigned and the men were 
trying to get out. The last report of the company is a curiosity 
in its way. It was dated September 1st, 1861, and twenty-two 
men who were merely absent from roll call were reported as de- 
serters, with a recommendation that all of their pay be taken 
from them. Others were reported for other offences, with the 
recommendation that one month's pay be deducted from them, 
and scarcely a man in the whole list had met the entire approval 
of the Captain. This report was made up after the receipt of 

70 



CAPT. JOHN H. MYERS' CO., CO. E, SIXTH VA. REGT. 71 



the order disbanding the company, and the summary was as fol- 
lows: 

Transferred to Company D 11 men. 

Appointed hospital steward 1 " 

Mustered out, 1 officer and 20 men 20 " 

Resigned, 2 officers. 

Mustered out, unwilling to remain in service. . 6 " 

Died, 1 ; discharged for disability, 1 8 " 

Deserted 22 " 

Total — 3 officers and 69 men. 

Nearly all of the men enlisted in other companies and made 
good soldiers. It was unfortunate that the Captain could not 
appreciate the difference between a company newly organized of 
men who had been used to the widest liberty in all of their move- 
ments and who needed to be brought under a state of discipline 
by patient and persistent efforts, and a company of regulars on 
shipboard. There was abundant material for a good company, 
but it was badly managed. Below will be found a complete roll 
of the company from the date of its organization, in April, 1861, 
to its disbandment, September 1st, 1861. One private, Elijah 
Creekmore, died. 

Captain — John H. Myers. 

First Lieutenant — Virginius S. Cooke. 

Second Lieutenant — V. O. Cassell. 

First Sergeant — B. J. Accinelly. 

Second Sergeant — Enos Murphy. 

Third Sergeant — Richard D. Brown. 

Fourth Sergeant — Charles Syer. 

First Corporal — William White. 

Second Corporal — James Thornton. 

Third Corporal — William Parsons. 

Fourth Corporal — John W. Howard. 

PRIVATES. 

Allen, Wm. A., Cotton, John, Hall, Henry, 

Bullock, Joseph, Creekmore, Elijah, Harrison, Chas. II., 

Barrett, Joseph, Doyle, Nathaniel, Halstead, Richard, 

Britton, AVm., Dewberry, James, Hozier, Joseph, 

Ballance, John, Elliott, Charles, Hudgins, Edward, 

Badger, M., Eason, Augustus, Hopkins, Hillary, 

Backus, Wm. T., Jr., Elliott, John W., Halstead, Alex., 

Barrett, Matthew, Frestine, John, Jordan, James, 

Cherry, Germain, Graham, James, Jordan, Wm. E., 

Curtain, Michael, Godwin, A. D. B., Jordan, Joseph, 

Collins, Wm. B., Gwynn, Isaac, Johnston, Geo. W., 



72 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



Knight, John M., 
Kent, Michael, 
Lewis, Thomas, 
Lingston, George, 
Lee, Lewis, 
Murphy, Patrick, 
Mathews, Jacob, 
Miller, Phliip, 
Newby, Samuel, 



Parker, George, 
Parker, Robert W., 
Parker, E. lv., 
Peel, John, 
Reynolds, II. G, 
Roiirke, Bernard, 
Scheill, Mitchell, 
Spaulding, John E., 
Tennis, T. S., 



Tennis, Wm., 
Walker, George, 
Wagner, Ercd, 
Whitehurt, Robt. B., 
White, Charles, 
Wallace, James, 
Walsh, Michael, 
Walsh, James, 
Wilger, Thomas. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE VIRGINIA ARTILLERY, COMPANY D, NINTH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

This company was organized about the 12th of April, 1861, for 
the purpose of offering its services to South Carolina, and elected 
the following officers : 

Captain — William J. Richardson. 

First Lieutenant — Charles R. McAlpine. 

Second Lieutenant — Samuel W. Weaver. 

Third Lieutenant — : George Linn. 

First Sergeant — John D. Skellin. 

Virginia "had not then passed the Ordinance of Secession, nor 
was the company uniformed or commissioned. It was unarmed 
also, and had not applied to Virginia for arms when the State 
seceded. When Governor Letcher issued his call for troops on 
the 20th of April, 1861, the Virginia Artillery gave up the idea 
of going to South Carolina and responded to Governor Letcher's 
call. The company was organized as an artillery company, but 
was not furnished with a battery and became an infantry com- 
pany and was attached to the 3d Virginia Regiment at the Naval 
Hospital Point. 

When the Navy Yard fell into the hands of the V irginia troops 
this company got a brass howitzer from off the old frigate United 
States, took it to the Independent Fire Company's engine house, 
put it in order and carried it to the Naval Hospital, but under 
orders from General Huger it was subsequently turned over to 
Grimes' Battery by Colonel Pry or. It was not given up willingly. 
The company took with them to the Naval Hospital Point about 
one hundred and twenty-five men, but most of them were skilled 
mechanics, and as their services were needed to w T ork on vessels 
in the Navy Yard, quite a number of them were detached by or- 
ders from headquarters. So many were thus detached that when 
the company was ordered to Craney Island about a month later 
there were only eighty in the ranks. Until the company was or 
dered to Craney Island the men w T ere armed with long boarding 
pikes which we're obtained in the Navy Yard. Shortly after their 
transfer to Craney Island the ladies of Portsmouth organized a 
sewing circle and made uniforms for them and their boarding 
pikes were exchanged for flint lock muskets. Some months later, 
when Lieutenant Colonel De Lagnel was in command of the post 
at Craney Island, these guns were sent to Norfolk and changed 
into percussion guns. 

While the company was at the Naval Hospital battery the men, 
by a very slight accidental circumstance, obtained the name of 

6 73 



74 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

" Wild Cats." which stuck to them to the close of the war. Being 
near home and no enemy nearer than Old Point, the men were 
very desirous of spending as much time at home with their fami- 
lies as possible, while Colonel Pryor's whole energies seemed to 
be bent on contriving means to keep them in camp. He placed 
sentinels very close together around the grounds, but in rear of 
the Hospital there was a very high brick wall which Colonel 
Pryor thought could not be scaled without a ladder, and as there 
were no ladders available he neglected to guard that part of the 
camp. The men in Company D soon found means of getting 
over, and one day a party of young ladies who were walking 
through the grove in rear of the Hospital saw three or four of 
them climbing over, and one of the young ladies remarked that 
they could climb equally as well as wild cats. Even to this day, 
thirty-one years afterwards, the men of Company D are spoken 
of as "Richardson's wild cats." 

On May 29th, 1861, the company was detached from the 3d 
Regiment and ordered to Craney Island, then under command of 
Colonel George Richardson, and was placed in charge of a water 
battery of six 32-pound guns, bearing upon the main channel of 
the river from Seawell's Point. 

Lieutenant McAlpine resigned on the 4th of May, 1861, to take 
command of a new company which was being organized under 
the name of Bilisoly Blues. This caused a vacancy in the position 
of First Lieutenant, and Orderly Sergeant Skellin was elected to 
till it. Second Sergeant Richard Vermillion was promoted to 1st 
Sergeant. These were the officers of the company until the re- 
organization on the 20th of April, 1862, when the following were 
elected : 

Captain — William J. Richardson. 

First Lieutenant — Samuel W. Weaver. 

Second Lieutenant — George Linn. 

Third Lieutenant — Richard Vermillion. 

First Sergeant — William A. Culpepper. 

Second Sergeant — Thomas H. Myers. 

Captain Richardson w T as promoted to Major of the 9th Regi- 
ment in June, 1862, and Lieutenant Weaver became Captain. 
Lieutenant Linn died in a hospital in Winchester in 1862, and 
Lieutenant Vermillion became 1st Lieutenant. Sergeant William 
A. Culpepper was wounded at Gettysburg and disabled from fur- 
ther service, and 2d Sergeant Thomas H. Myers was promoted to 
Orderly Sergeant. 

When the 9th Virginia Regiment was organized in June, 1861, 
this company was attached to it as Company D. The boys were 
very much amused at the requirements of the Adjutant of the 
post at Craney Island, Lieutenant Thomas Smith, son of Colonel 
F. H. Smith, President of the Virginia Military Institute, who 



VA. ARTILLERY, CO. D, NINTH VA. INFANTRY. 75 

insisted upon their coming upon parades and drills with their 
faces cleanly shaved and shoes highly polished. If Lieutenant 
Smith followed the army after it got into active warfare he pos- 
sibly omitted the polished shoes from the "army regulations." 
His connection with the 9th Regiment as Adjutant ceased when 
Craney Island was evacuated by the Confederates. There were 
on Craney Island in May, 1862, eight companies, of which one 
was from Portsmouth, two from Norfolk city, two from Peters- 
burg, one from Chesterfield, one from Salem, one from Baltimore 
and Norfolk county, and when orders were received to abandon 
the island the troops forded the narrow channel between the island 
and the main land and marched to Suffolk, wdiere they took the 
cars for Petersburg. 

On the 24th of May, 1S62, Company D was detached tempo- 
rarily from the regiment and ordered to Battery No. 5 in the 
fortifications around Richmond ; rejoined the regiment on the 2d 
of June, and about the 7th of June was sent to a battery on the 
York River railroad and placed in charge of two long 24-pounder 
rifle guns. The 4th Georgia Regiment was with the company as 
a support. While here an incident occurred which came near 
wiping out of existence the whole- company. The magazine was 
close in rear of the earthworks, and was heavily stocked with 
powder, &c., and a shell from one of the enemy's guns fell right 
into it, but, fortunately, did not explode. There was powder 
enough in the magazine to have blown every man in the company 
to atoms. The company opened the battle of Mechanicsville on 
the 26th of June by shelling at long range a piece of woods in 
which the enemy had obtained a lodgment, and from which the 
Confederate infantry afterwards drove them. On the 27th the 
company was moA*ed to Tree Hill battery, in front of Richmond, 
between the York River railroad and the river, and was there 
until after the battle of Malvern Hill, when it was ordered back 
to the regiment. After that it w r as constantly with the regiment 
and participated in all of its battles. Sickness, wounds and trans- 
fers of its members to other commands reduced its ranks. Many 
of its men were transferred to Grimes' Battery in April, 1862. 

The following men were in the charge of Pickett's Division at 
Gettysburg July 3d, 1863 : 

Captain Samuel W. Weaver, captured. 

First Lieutenant Richard Yirmillion. 

First Sergeant William A. Culpepper, wounded and captured. 

Second Sergeant Thomas H. Myers. 

PRIVATES. 

Bailey, Thomas, Cutherell, Leonard, 

Bland, George, Cross, John, killed, 

Byrd, Daniel, killed, Cowper, Walter G., 



76 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Darden, Joseph, captured, Skinner, Abraham, captured, 

Hansford, Jas., wounded slightly. Urquhart, William, wounded, 
McCoy, Rufus K., wounded, Williams, Samuel, captured, 

Miltier, Daniel, wounded, Walton, George W., captured, 

Reed, Robert E., killed, Yates, Josiah W., wounded. 

Thus, of the twenty men who went in the charge fourteen were 
either killed, wounded or captured. 

Below will be found the roster of the company for June, 1861. 
Conscripts from other portions of the State who were added to 
the company in 1864 and 1865, are omitted because they were 
not Portsmouth men. 

Captain William J. Richardson, promoted to Major 9th Virginia. 

First Lieutenant Charles R. McAlpin, promoted Captain Co. I, 61st Virginia. 

" " John C. Skelling, dropped at reorganization. 

Captain Samuel W. Weaver, captured at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863, aud not 

exchanged. 
Lieutenant Richard Vermillion. 

George Linn, died in hospital in Winchester 1862. 
Orderly Sergeant Thomas H. Myers, wounded August 26th, 1862, at War- 
renton Springs. 

PRIVATES. 

Anderson, John, detached 1861. 

Bright, Johnathan, discharged July, 1862, over age. 

Bright, W. Jordan, transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

Brent, John. 

Bailey, Thomas A. 

Bland, George. 

Brown, James, drummer. 

Boutwell, Richard, transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

Bateman, Robert, died in hospital 1863. 

Byrd, Daniel, killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Brownley, A. M , transferred to Grimes' Battery. 

Culpepper, William A., promoted First Sergeant, wounded, disabled and 

captured at Gettysburg. 
Cutherell, Leonard, wounded Drury's Bluff May 16, 1864, died in hospital. 
Cross, John, killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Cowper, Walter G., severely wounded at Suffolk 1863. 
DeGraw, William, furnished substitute 1861. 
Deakin, George. 
Darden, Richard. 

Day, William, transferred to Governor's Guard. 
Darden, Samuel. 

Darden, Joseph L., captured at Gettysburg. 
Eastman, Lewis, transferred to Navy. 
Futtett, George. 
Grant, George W. 

Goodson, Henry, transferred to Grimes' Battery. 
Greenwood, James, transferred to the Navy. 
Gray, William. 

Hansford, James, wounded May 16th, 1864, Drury's Bluff. 
Hansford, Richard, transferred to Grimes Battery. 
Houston, John, detached 1861. 
Hall, Samuel, killed 1862 by falling tree. 
Hall, Cary J., transferred to Navy 1862. 
Hampton, Augustus. 
Happer, Richard W. B., discharged 1861, under age. 



VA. ARTILLERY, CO. D, NINTH VA. INFANTRY. 77 

Howell, Fletcher, died in hospital 1863. 

Hand. Samuel T., Jr., discharged 1861, disability. 

Harvey, Walter, accidentally drowned 1861 . 

Ironmonger, C. E., transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

Jarvis, John E. 

Jollett, W. H., surrendered at Appomattox. 

Linn, Charles B., transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

Long, L. C, discharged August 28th, 1862, over age. 

McDonell, George W. K., transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

McCoy, R. K., wounded and disabled at Gettysburg and appointed Commis- 
sary Sergeant, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Moore, Fred E., died in hospital 1863. 

Minter, Andrew, transferred to Grimes' Battery 1S62. 

Morris, William T., detached 1861 . 

Matthews, John W., transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

Nicholson, C. M., died in Chimborazo hospital February 26tb, 1862. 

Newman, John B., discharged July, 1862, over age. 

Peed, Leroy S., detailed 1863. 

Pitt, L. D., transferred to Navy 1862. 

Quillan, John. 

Reed, Robert E., killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Sale, Henry G., discharged for disability 18(53 and entered the Navy. 

Sheppard, William E., transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

Skinner, Abraham, died at Point Lookout 1864. 

Seacrist, Barclay, died at Point Lookout 1861. 

Stublin, William C. (Sergeant), discharged 1862, overage. 

Thompson, John W., killed May 16th, 1864, at Urury's Bluff. 

Urquhart, William, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Webster, , discharged July, 1862, over age. 

Williams, Samuel. 

Walton, George W. 

Walton, John W., transferred to Navy 1862. 

Wilkerson, William. 

Watson, Joseph W. 

White, Joseph, discharged for disability 1861. 

White, Richard W. B., Sergeant. 

Walsh, Joseph, detached 1861 . 

Wrench, John, transferred to Grimes' Battery 1862. 

Wrenn, Edward, killed May 16th, 1864, at Drury's Bluff. 

Yates, Samuel, died 1865. 

Yates, Josiah D., wounded severely July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, and 
slightly in three other battles. 
Killed and died — 16. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE PORTSMOUTH RIFLE COMPANY, CO. G, NINTH VA. REGIMENT. 

This company was organized in Portsmouth in 1792, conse- 
quently it had passed through an existence of sixty-nine years 
and witnessed two wars, when Governor Letcher issued Ids 
order on the 20th of April, 1801, calling its members to arms. The 
company was armed with old style Mississippi rifles, without bay- 
onets, but subsequently the City Council of Portsmouth made an 
appropriation to fit them with sabre bayonets, which were manu- 
factured in the city at the Union Car Works. 

For much of the information concerning this company and also 
concerning the 9th Virginia Regiment, to which it was attached, 
the author is indebted to Orderly Sergeant John W. Wood, who 
kept a diary from the evacuation of Portsmouth by the Confed- 
erates on the 10th of May, 1802, until the close of the war. 

On the 20th of April, 1801, when the company was ordered 
into service, the following were the officers: 

Captain — John C. Owens. 

First Lieutenant — Lemuel T. Cleaves. 

Second Lieutenant — William F. Tonkin. 

Shortly afterwards Orderly Sergeant William J. Wood was 
elected 3d Lieutenant. The Rifles, like the other Portsmouth 
companies, was in the 3d Regiment. It responded promptly to 
the Governor's order, mustered under arms on the afternoon of 
the 20th of April, and on the morning of the 21st was ordered, 
one-half to the Navy Yard and the other half to the Naval Hos- 
pital Point. The following week the whole company was or- 
dered to Pig Point, at the mouth of the Nansemond river, to 
fortify that point. They built there a strong earthwork and 
manned it with guns from the Navy Yard. Captain Robert B. 
Pegram of the navy was assigned to the battery as commander of 
the" post, and also for the purpose of instructing the men in the 
use of the heavy guns, for which service his previous experience 
in the United States Navy eminently qualified him. The earth- 
work had not been completed and only four guns had been 
mounted before the United States cutter Harriet Lane, mounting 
eight guns, made an attack upon it. The Lane took a position 
where only two of the guns of the battery could be brought to 
bear upon her and succeeded in disabling one of the guns by a 
well directed shot, which entered the embrasure and struck the 
gun on its muzzle. The fight, however, was kept up with the 
other gun, and after a spirited engagement of about twenty min- 
utes the Lane hauled off, considerably damaged and having a 

78 



PORTSMOUTH RIFLE CO., CO. G, NINTH VA. REGT. 79 

number of men injured. She was sent to Washington for re- 
pairs. No one was hurt in the battery. The members of the 
company acted with the coolness of veterans, though it was the 
first time they were under fire. This battle was fought June 5th, 
1861. 

After the fall of Roanoke Island, which took place on the 8th 
of February, 1862, the Federals landed a force of" troops at Eliza- 
beth City, JST. C, and in April passed over to the opposite side of 
the Pasquotank river and landed a brigade, under General Reno, 
in Camden county, and pushed on through that county towards 
South Mills. The 3d Georgia Regiment, under Colonel A. R. 
Wright, hearing of the approach of the enemy advanced by orders 
from headquarters to meet them, and in an engagement near 
South Mills compelled them to fall back to Elizabeth City. The 
Portsmouth Rifle. Company had suffered considerably from mala- 
ria in their camp at Pig Point and had been removed to Ports- 
mouth for the purpose of recuperating, and were doing provost 
duty in the city at the time of General Reno's advance, hence, as 
the company was immediately available, it was ordered by Gen- 
eral Blanchard to march to South Mills to reinforce the Geor- 
gians. The 1st Louisiana Regiment and Grimes' Battery from 
Portsmouth were also sent there as reinforcements, but the fight 
was over and the enemy had retired before their arrival. 

The Rifles kept on to the vicinity of Elizabeth City and did 
duty there as the advanced picket until it was determined by the 
Confederate authorities to evacuate Portsmouth, when they re- 
ceived orders to retuA to the city, which they did, arriving in 
time to take part in the closing scenes. The company was camped 
at Oak Grove, on the South street road about a quarter of a mile 
from the city, and was the last body of troops to leave. After 
all the other commands had moved off the Portsmouth Rifles re- 
ceived orders to march into the city and destroy all of the cotton 
and tobacco which was stored there, to prevent it from falling 
into the hands of the enemy, and were eye-witnesses to all of the 
dread and distress which was manifested and felt by the women of 
Portsmouth, who were thus being abandoned to the uncertain 
treatment of their foes, while the men were marching off to bat- 
tle and possible death. 

Having accomplished the object for which they had been sent 
back, they started at 6 o'clock P. M. May 10th and marched to 
Bower's Hill, where they arrived about 9 o'clock and were 
camped in the quarters which had been built there by the 3d 
Louisiana Battalion, and from which they had moved only a few 
hours before. The next day, the 11th, the march was resumed, 
but orders were received by Captain Owens to return a couple of 
miles back toward Portsmouth as a rear guard for the division, 
and they kept that distance behind the rest of the troops until 



80 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

they reached Suffolk. The Rifles were then ordered up, placed 
on the Seaboard and Roanoke railroad cars and taken to Weldon, 
from which point they were carried by rail to Petersburg, arriv- 
ing there on the 12th, and were quartered on Dunn's Hill. 

The 9th Virginia Regiment was here united and organized by 
the election of field officers, an account which will appear further 
on. The Portsmouth Rifles became known in the regiment as 
Company Gr, and, as in the reorganization of the regiment Cap- 
tain Owens was elected Major, a new election of officers was held 
in the company. Lieutenant Cleaves was elected Captain, which 
position he field until the close of the war; Lieutenants Tonkin 
and Wood were each advanced one grade, and Orderly Sergeant 
Nathaniel C. Gayle was elected yd Lieutenant. William H. 
White was elected Orderly Sergeant. He was subsequently killed 
at the battle of Malvern Hill July 1st, 1862. Lieutenant Wood 
resigned in the winter of 1862-3, and Orderly Sergeant John H. 
Lewis, who had succeeded to that position on the death of Ser- 
geant AYhite, was elected 3d Lieutenant. There were no other 
changes among the commissioned officers during the war except 
that toward the close of the war Lieutenant Gayle received an 
appointment as carpenter in the Navy and was transferred to 
that branch of the service. Lieutenants Tonkin and Gayle were 
wounded at Gettysburg July 3, 1863, and Lieutenant Lewis was 
captured at the stone fence. 

The company lost two Orderly Sergeants during the War, Ser- 
geant William II. White, who was killed at Malvern Hill, and 
Sergeant John K. Beaton, who was killed at Drury's Bluff May 
16th, 1864. Upon the death of Sergeant Beaton, John W. Wood 
was promoted to the position and held it until the close of the 
war, which ended with the surrender at Appomattox. 

In 1862, while the company was in the vicinity of Elizabeth 
City, N. C, a number of the men went bathing about sundown in 
the' Pasquotank river, but soon had a hornet's nest about them in 
the form of hundreds of moccasin snakes which, having had un- 
disputed possession of the stream for years, entered a vigorous 
protest against the intruders upon their vested rights. The boys 
lost no time in getting to the shore and left the snakes in posses- 
sion of the river. 

On one occasion while on picket duty about five miles from 
Elizabeth City near a farm house on the banks of the Pasquotank 
river the company formed the acquaintance of a very pretty 
young girl about thirteen or fourteen years old, daughter of the 
gentleman who owned the place. The young lady told them that 
a short time before then a United States gunboat came up the 
river and stopped in front of the house, that a party of men came 
ashore from it, and one of them, a soldier, pointed his gun at her 
with the intention of shooting her, and would have done so had 
not an officer knocked down the gun with his sword. 



PORTSMOUTH RIFLE CO., CO. G, NINTH VA. REGT. 81 

After the company had been on duty a short while at Pig Point 
Company II (Captain Niblett commanding), 59th Virginia Regi- 
ment, was sent to the battery as a reinforcement. This company 
was from Lunenburg county, Virginia, and afterwards became a 
part of Wise's Brigade. Camped near them as supports, were 
the 1st Louisiana and the 4th Georgia Regiments. 

While at Pig Point Private James W. Morgan died. He died 
in August, 1861, and was buried in Portsmouth. This was the 
first death in the company. Private Ephraim Bailey was taken 
sick from exposure while the company was in the vicinity of 
Elizebeth City, JS". C, and died in a hospital in Richmond shortly af- 
ter the Confederates evacuated Portsmouth. Later on, when the 
company became exposed to the dangers of the battle-field and to 
exposure amid snow and rain, deaths became more common, and in 
the remaining three years of the war twenty-two of its members 
gave up their lives an unavailing sacrifice upon the altar of their 
country, while many more were prostrated by wounds which dis- 
abled them for life and brought them to untimely graves. The 
Portsmouth Rifles made for themselves a gallant record and were 
in the front of the battle on many a hard fought field. In the 
charge of Pickett's Division at Gettysburg, which stands promi- 
nently forward as one of the most noted events in the history of 
the Army of Northern Virginia, the Portsmouth Rifle Company 
had forty-eight men, of whom seven were killed and so many 
were wounded and fell into the hands of the enemy that only 
seven of them were able to report for duty the day after the bat- 
tle. Of three commissioned officers who went with the company 
in the charge two were wounded and the other captured. One 
of the men, Corporal Lemuel II. Williams, planted the colors of 
the 9th Regiment at the stone wall and was killed, almost at that 
very moment. Sergeant Joshua Grimes of Company I of Nor- 
folk county, was the color bearer of the regiment, and carried the 
colors to within twenty yards of the wall and was shot down, se- 
verely wounded. The flag fell with him, but Corporal Williams 
immediately picked it up and bore it to the farthest point of ad- 
vance made by the division, when he received his death wound. 

On the 24th of August, 1862, while Longstreet's Corps was 
pushing on after General Pope towards the battle-ground of 
Second Manassas the 9th Regiment was in the advance, and Com- 
pany G was the advance picket. That day the company captured 
three Federal cavalrymen, and on the 10th of May, 1864, when 
the bold front made by Armistead's Brigade and Grade's Ala- 
bama Brigade near Drury's Bluff checked Butler's advance 
upon Richmond and saved the city from capture, Company G 
was detailed as skirmishers in front of the 38th Virginia Regi- 
ment. In this action Privates James W. Findley and James 
Land were wounded and Private William T. Edwards was cap- 



82 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

tured. On tlie 17th of June, 1864, after General Butler had 
been bottled up at Bermuda Hundreds Company G was a part of 
the picket line and made a charge upon and captured the Federal 
picket line in their front, but as the left of the Confederate picket 
line had failed to advance Company G returned to the original 
position, bringing a large number of prisoners with them. 

While the 9th Regiment was advancing with Armistead's Bri- 
gade up the Gettysburg heights and when near the stone wall be- 
hind which the enemy was sheltered, Private William G. Monte 
of the Portsmouth Rifle Company, Company G, casting his eye 
along the line of advancing Confederates, then at the long lines 
of the enemy, who were pouring into them a deadly lire of artil- 
lery and musketry, and then over the country behind him where 
stood seven of the nine divisions of the Confederate army, ex- 
claimed, "What a glorious sight!" He then took his watch out 
of his pocket, noted the time of day and put it back again. In 
less than two minutes lie was dead. A Federal bullet found a 
vital spot, and one of the bravest and coolest men in General Lee's 
army passed to "the great unknown." 

In his official report of the battle of Pig Point, June 5th, 1861, 
Captain Robert B. Pegram of the Navy, who commanded the 
post, says: 

"For men who had never been in action, the Portsmouth Rifles 
were remarkably cool and self possessed, and, after a few rounds, 
got the range of the enemy and fired admirably well. Every 
officer and man behaved in the most spirited and creditable man- 
ner, and were so regardless of danger that I had often to interpose 
my authority to prevent their exposing themselves unnecessarily 
to the enemy's fire.'" 

The following members of the company were in the charge of 
Pickett's Division at Gettysburg. Some were wounded who are 
not so recorded, but their names cannot be recalled to memory. 
Their wounds were slight. 

Lieutenant W. F. Tonkin, wounded. 
" Nat G. Gayle, wounded. 

" John II. Lewis, captured. 

Sergeant John K. Beaton, wounded. 
" John R. Dunn, killed. 
" John W. Wood. 
" L. C. Gayle, captured. 
" David W. Ballentine, captured. 

Corporal Lemuel H. Williams, killed. 
" William II. Brittingham. 

PRIVATES. 

Anderton, Wm. T., captured, Buxton, John T., captured, 
Brownley, Wm. K., captured, Bourke, Jos. B., captured, 
Boyd, Henry C, Bennett, William B., killed, 



PORTSMOUTH RIFLE CO., CO. G, NINTH VA. REGT. 83 

Barton, Robert P., captured, Lattimer, John W., killed, 

Creecy, George A., wounded, Lewis, George W., wounded, 
Etheredge, Sam'l, litter bearer, Monte, William G., killed, 
Emmerson, George, Moreland, J. Baker, captured, 

Edwards, William T., Myers, Stephen A., 

Edwards, Oney H., Nash, Richard J., killed, 

Denson, Virginius S., Neville, William S., captured, 

Ferebee, George W., captured, Owens, Thomas C, killed, 
Fiendly, James W., Phillips, Henry O., wounded 

Ferebee, Joseph K., captured, and captured, 

Grant, Jordan W., captured, Phillips, Michael, captured, 

Gaskins, Thomas S., captured, Peed, Samuel S., captured, - 
Harvey, Arthur W., captured, RevilJ, George A., captured, 
Plargroves, John R., wounded Revill, Randall, wounded, 

and captured, Sale, John E., wounded and 

Harding, Milton L., captured, captured, 

Kelsick, John R., Stewart, James T., 

Land, James W. T., wounded, Williams, Millard C, wounded. 

The following were present for duty but were detailed upon 
other service and did not go into the charge : 
Brownley, Charles, Murphy, Enos, White, George A., 

Bailey, James M., Owens, A. B., Whitehurst, M. P., 

Berry, George T., Roane, Alonzo B., Wilkerson, Geo. P., 

Johnston, Theophilus, Thompkins, Thos. G. 

Below will be found the list of names on the roll of the com- 
pany for August, 1861 : 

Captain John C. Owens, promoted Colonel 9th Virginia, killed at Gettys- 
burg. 
Captain Lemuel T. Cleaves. 

Lieutenant William F. Tonkin, wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 
Lieutenant William J. Wood, resigned 1862-3. 
Lieutenant Nathaniel G. Gayle, wounded at Gettysburg, transferred to 

Navy 1865. 
Lieutenant John H. Lewis, captured at Gettysburg Julv 3d, 1863. 
First Sergeant William H. White, killed July 1st, 1862,* Malvern Hill. 
" John K. Beaton, killed May 16th, 1864, Drnrv's Bluff. 
" " John R. Dunn, killed Julv 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

John W. Wood. 
Sergeant L. Christopher Gayle, captured at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863. 
•" David W. Ballentine, captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Corporal Thomas George, transferred to Navy 1863. 
Theophilus F. Ash. 

Lemuel H. Williams, killed July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 
" William H. Brittingham. 

PRIVATES. 

Anderton, William T., captured July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Brownley, William K., captured at Gettysburg, died at Fort Delaware. 

Boyd, Henry C. 

Buxton, John T., captured at Gettysburg, died at Point Lookout. 

Berry, George T., transferred to Navy 1863. 

Bourke, Joseph B., captured July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 



84 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Bennett, William B., killed July 3d, 1868, Gettysburg. 

Barrett, W. H. 

Burton, Robert P., captured July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Brownley, Charles. 

Bailey, James M., killed May 16th, 1864, Drury's Bluff. 

Bailey, Ephriam, died in hospital at Richmond May 5th, 1862. 

Boushell, John, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard and promoted Cap- 
tain in Naval battalion, Richmond. 

Culpepper, Roland H. 

Creecy, George A., wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Collins, George W. F. D., detailed 1862 to work in Navy. 

Culpepper, Reuben, detached September, 1862. 

Densou, Virginius S. 

Etheredge, Samuel R. 

Emmerson, George W. 

Edwards, William T., captured May 10th, 1864, Drury's Bluff. 

Edwards, Oney H. 

Edwards. Amos W., detached 1861 to work on machinery. 

Ferebee, George W., captured at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863. 

Ferebee, Joseph K., captured at Gettysburg, died at Point Lookout. 

Fiendly, James W. 

Gleason, James, promoted Lieutenant Company H, 61st Virginia Regiment. 

Grant, Jordan W., captured at Gettysburg, died at Point Lookout. 

Grant, Benjamin F., wounded and died. 

Gaskins, Thonms S., captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Harding, Milton L., captured July 3d, 1868, at Gettysburg. 

Hennicke, Henry 0. 

Harvey, Arthur W., captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Hargroves, John R., wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, and captured. 

Holt, Edwin W. 

Hundley, James H., discharged 1861, disability. 

Herbert, John D. 

Hoftler, Samuel, promoted Ordnance Sergeant Mahone's Brigade. 

Hennicke, Fred. 

Johnston, Theophilus. 

Johnson, Columbus, wounded at Warrenton Springs and died. 

Johnson, Augustus, killed at Warrenton Springs August 28th, 1862. 

Jobson, J. Tyler. 

Kelsick, John R. 

Land, James W. T., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Lattimer, John W., killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Lewis, George W., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Mathews, W. R., discharged 1861, disability. 

Morris, Frank, transferred to Company I, 13th Virginia Cavalry, wounded 
at Williamsport 1863 and Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 

Monte, William G., killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Murphy, Enos, died in hospital May 4th, 1865. 

Morelaud, J. B., captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Myers, Stephen H. 

Morgan, James W., died August, 1861, at Pig Point. 

Mathews, H., discharged 1862, over age. 

Nash, Richard James, killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Neville, William S., captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Owens, Thomas G, killed July 3d. 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Owens, A. B., detailed as courier at brigade headquarters. 

Owens, Edward M., captured at Saylers Creek April 6th, 1865. 

Oliver, William J., detached at Lougstreet's headquarters 1862, rejoined 
the company in 1864 and surrendered at Appomattox. 

Phillips, Michael, captured July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, and died of pneu- 
monia at Point Lookout. 

Phillips, William R. 



PORTSMOUTH RIFLE CO., CO. G, NINTH VA. REGT. 85 

Phillips, Henry 0., wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, and captured. 
Peed, Samuel S., captured July 5th, 1863, in Pennsylvania. 
Pugh, Lindsay, detached 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 
Phillips, Charles T., promoted Sergeant Major 9th Regiment. 
Revell, George A., captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. - 
Revell, Randall, wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 
Robertson, William D., discharged 1861 for disability. 
Roane, Alonzo B. 
Savage, T. A. 

Sherwood, 0. B., discharged 1862, over age. 
Sale, John E., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Stewart, James T. 

Smith, William F., discharged 1861 for disability. 
Tyson, Luther. 
Tompkins, Thomas G. 

Thomas, William James, killed June 1st, 1862, at Seven Pines. 
White, George A. 
Watts, George W. H. 
Whitehurst, Marshall P. 

Williams, Millard C.. wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Wilkerson, George P. 
Woodhouse, Thomas C. 

Weaver, Joseph F., appointed carpenter in Navy. 
Williams, Thomas H., transferred to Company K, 9th Virginia. 
Williams, J. Herbert. 

Whitfield, Lewis, killed August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 
Virnelson, William B., detached 1862 to work in arsenal. 
Virnelson, Joseph H., detached 1862 to work in Navy Yard and appointed 
engineer in the Navv. 
Killed and died— 24. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE CRANEY ISLAND ARTILLERY, CO. I, NINTH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

This company was organized immediately after the Governor 
issued his call for volunteers in April, 1861, and the members 
came from Norfolk county, in the vicinity of Churchland, and 
from the upper portion of Nansemond county, the larger portion, 
however, being from Norfolk county. The officers of the com- 
pany under whom it was originally mustered into service were: 

Captain, John T. Kilby. 

First Lieutenant, J. O. B. Crocker; Second Lieutenant, William 
S. Wright, 

First Sergeant, John II. Wright; Second Sergeant, James C. 
Bidgood ; Third Sergeant, Keely Harrison ; Fourth Sergeant, 
Henry B. Lewer. 

Upon being mustered into service the company was ordered to the 
battery at Pinner's Point and was attached to the 9th Ya. Regiment 
as Company I, remaining on duty there until the evacuation by 
the Confederates on the 10th of May, 1862, when it marched to 
Suffolk. At Pinner's Point the company occupied comfortable 
quarters which the men built for themselves with lumber furnished 
by the Quartermaster's Department, but the health of the men 
was not good in camp, and four of them died in hospital during 
the year they were there. The battery at Pinner's Point con- 
tained twelve 32 and 68-pounder Dahlgren guns, and, nearer the 
end of the point, there was another battery of four 6-inch rifle 
guns. These were originally 32-pounder Dahlgren guns, and 
were rifled and banded in the Navy Yard. These two batteries 
were manned by Company I and Company K. In rear of the 
batteries there were erected two furnaces for heating shot red hot, 
and also a bomb-proof magazine, but no opportunity presented 
itself of testing their efficiency as the enemy never appeared be- 
fore the battery. 

In May, 1862, there was a reorganization of the company, and 
the men re-enlisted for the war. There was also a slight change 
in the officers. On account of a disagreement or misunderstand- 
ing Lieutenant Wright declined a re-election and enlisted as a 
private in Company K. First Sergeant John H. Wright was 
discharged, at his own request, for the purpose of organizing an- 
other company. In this he succeeded, and became its Captain. 
It was attached to the 61st Yirginia Regiment as Company II. 
Lieutenant Wright was with Company K in the battle of Seven 
Pines, and was wounded through the fleshy portion of the arm. 
After recovering from his wound he was appointed Adjutant of 

86 



CRANEY ISLAND ARTILLERY, CO. I, NINTH VA. INFANTRY. 87 

the 61st Virginia Regiment and died in camp in the fall of 1863 
of congestive chill. 

At the reorganization of Company I Captain Kilby and First 
Lieutenant Crocker were re-elected and Cornelius M. Dozier was 
elected Second Lieutenant. John Arthur was elected Third 
Lieutenant, but failed to qualify or to connect himself with the 
company. Private McKemmey Lewis was elected First Sergeant. 
After the evacuation of Pinner's Point the company went to Pe- 
tersburg and was in camp on Dunn's Hill with the rest of the 
regiment, but remained there only a few days when it was de- 
tached and sent to Battery No. 5 in the fortifications around 
Riehmond. On the 1st of June it was ordered to rejoin the regi- 
ment at Seven Pines and marched to that place, but did not reach 
there until after the battle was over. It missed one other battle, 
that of Drury's Bluff, which was fought on the 16th of May, 
1864, while the company was absent from the regiment on de- 
tached duty, but, with those two exceptions, it participated in all 
of the battles in which the regiment was engaged. 

During the month of June the regiment took part in several 
skirmishes and picket fights, which accustomed the men to fire, 
and when the battle of Malvern Hill was fought, the first general 
engagement in which Company I took part, the men acted with 
the coolness and steadiness of old veterans and were conspicuous 
for their gallantry. Color Sergeant John T. Bain of Company I 
had the colors*of the regiment, and when the regiment was charg- 
ing up the hill was shot down, receiving a wound from which he 
subsequently died. Captain Kilby picked up the flag, stood with 
it in front of the line, waved it to the men and held them to their 
position. While thus waving the colors the staff was shot in two 
just above his hand, but he caught it up again, and handing it to 
Joshua Grimes of his company told him to hold on to it under all 
circumstances and contingencies. Lieutenant Colonel Gilliam in 
his official report of the battle [see Chapter XII., the 9th Virginia 
Regiment, post] alludes to this incident, but speaks of it as the 
flag of another regiment. The 9th Virginia and 4th Georgia were 
somewhat mixed together at the time, which was possibly the 
cause of Colonel Gilliam's mistake. 

Company I lost very heavily in this battle. Four men were 
killed outright on the battle field and two others died from wounds 
received there, while eleven others were wounded more or less 
severely. The killed were Lieutenant Cornelius M. Dozier, Ser- 

feant Joseph Prentis, Corporal Lucillicus "W. Jones and Private 
homas Parker. Sergeant Henry B. Lewer and Color Sergeant 
John T. Bain were mortally wounded, were taken to Richmond 
and died shortly afterwards in the hospital. The day before the 
battle Corporal Jones had been elected by the company to the 
position of Third Lieutenant, but was killed before he obtained 



88 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

his commission. Sergeant Prentis was a gallant boy, scarcely 
eighteen years old, son of Mr. Robert Prentis, proctor of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia. His dead body was found the day after the 
battle, nearer the enemy's lines than any other, showing that in 
his zeal to snatch victory from the seething volcano of shot and 
shell they were endeavoring to storm, his young and chivalrous 
spirit had carried him far in advance of his comrades. 

Captain Kilby was with the company at Warrenton Springs, 
Second Manassas, Harper's Ferry and Sharpsburg, and on the 2d 
of October, 1862, was appointed a Surgeon in the army and 
assigned to the 3d Georgia Regiment. Lieutenant Crocker then 
became Captain. On the 13th of August Corporal John C. Nie- 
meyer and Private John Vermillion of Company K were elected 
Second and Third Lieutenants in Company 1, and upon the pro- 
motion of Lieutenant Crocker to Captain they were advanced to 
First and Second Lieutenants respectively. 

Captain Crocker was a steady soldier, something on the order 
of the Roman sentinel at Herculaneum, who stood at his post 
while the burning ashes were falling all around him and finally 
entombed him. He was a Norfolk county farmer at the beginning 
of the war, without any experience in military tactics, but as kind 
hearted as a woman, as brave as -a lion and as steady as a stone 
wall. His men loved him like a father, and were fond of getting 
off practical jokes at his expense. On one occasion, in the midst 
of a battle, one of his men, knowing his total unacquaintance with 
military matters, and to see what he would say, exclaimed, " Cap- 
tain! I have blown the tube out of my gun." "Well, blow it 
back again," replied the Captain. A little later another of his 
men sang out, "Captain, they are cross firing at us." "Well, 
cross fire back at them," cams back his reply. 

At the battle of Gettysburg the company was in the charge of 
Pickett's Division, and paid a heavy toll for the gallantry it dis- 
played and the fame it won on that occasion. It carried thirty- 
eight men in the charge, of whom three were killed, thirteen 
wounded and eleven captured. Some of those captured were 
wounded also. Lieutenant Neimeyer and Privates Mills Brinkley 
and Jesse Norfleet were killed. Captain Crocker was captured 
and Lieutenant Vermillion was wounded and captured. Color 
Sergeant Joshua Grimes was severely wounded while carrying 
the flag, but recovered, and on the 17th of August, 1864, was 
appointed Ensign of the regiment with the rank of Third Lieu- 
tenant. He was again wounded at Drury's Bluff May 16th, 1864, 
this making the third time the bullets from the enemy made a 
lodgement in his body. Frank M. Arthur, who was captured at 
Gettysburg, was elected Second Lieutenant while in prison, and 
was subsequently exchanged and commanded the company until 
the battle of Five Forks, on the 1st of April, 1865, when he again 



CRANEY ISLAND ARTILLERY, CO. I, NINTH VA. INFANTRY. 89 

fell into the hands of tlio enemy. During the interval between 
the battle of Gettysburg and tlje following spring the company 
was without any commissioned officer, and Orderly Sergeant 
McKemmy Lewis was in command, but in the spring of 1804 
Lieutenant AV. T. R. Bell of Accomac county was sent from Camp 
Lee to take charge of it, and remained until the return of Lieu- 
tenant Arthur from prison. 

Captain Crocker and Lieutenant Vermillion were not exchanged 
but were kept in prison until the close of the w r ar. Captain 
Crocker was one of the Confederate officers who were sent to 
Morris Island in Charleston harbor by the United States authori- 
ties and placed under the fire of the Confederate batteries. The 
reason they assigned for this proceeding was that there w T ere some 
Federal officers confined in the city of Charleston who were ex- 
posed to the tire of their guns which were aimed at that city. 

Just before the battle of Gettysburg Private Mills Brinkley had 
one of those mysterious presentments or premonitions of approach- 
ing death. While the regiment was passing up Cemetery Hill, 
in the charge of Pickett's Division, he turned to Lieutenant Nie- 
meyer, who, with Lieutenant Vermillion, was at his post in rear 
of the line, and told him he felt as if he were going to be killed, 
and asked permission to leave the ranks. Lieutenant Niemeyer 
refused his request and ordered him to take his place in the line. 
Lieutenant Vermillion joined in his request. He reminded Lieu- 
tenant Xiemeyer that Brinkley had always proved himself a brave 
and good soldier, but Lieutenant JS T iemeyer again refused and 
Brinkley resumed his position in the ranks. He had hardly taken 
twenty steps further in advance when a piece of shell struck him 
in the forehead, killing him instantly. In a very few minutes 
afterwards Lieutenant Niemeyer was himself killed. 

The following members of the company participated in the 
charge of Pickett's Division at Gettysburg. Several who received 
slight wounds did not report to the hospital, and are not recorded 
as having been wounded. 

Captain J. O. Crocker, captured. 

First Lieutenant John C. Niemeyer, killed. 

Second Lieutenant John Vermillion, wounded and captured. 

Sergeant McKemmie Lewis, wounded. 

Color Sergeant Joshua Grimes, wounded. 

PRIVATES. 

Arthur, Frank M., captured, Capps, Josiah, wounded and cap- 
Barnes, Belson, wounded, tured, 

Bidgood, W. D., captured, Gomer, John D., 

Brinkley, Mills, killed, Gwynn, George W., wounded, 

Brinkley, Granville, captured, Harrell, Reuben, captured, 

Brinkley, Daniel, Herring, R. H., 

Carney, Richard, wounded, Humphlet, J. T., wounded, 
7 



90 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Jones, Nathan E. XL, wounded Skeeter, "William J., 

and captured, r Small, Benjamin, wounded, 

Jordan, John L., wounded. Stallings, J. Van, 

Lassiter, Richard, Taylor, Benjamin, captured, 

Noi fleet, Jesse, killed, Taylor, Williamson R, 

Parker. William J., Vann, William 11., wounded, 

Richardson, George Clay, Wilkins, Henry, 

BUby, Thomas, captured, Walton, Henry, wounded, 

Riddick, Amos, captured, Wilkins, George, 

Stringer, John E., 

Below will be found the roster of the company. Those marked 

with a star were from Nansemond county. 

Captain John T. Kiiby, appointed Surgeon C. S. Army October 2d, 1862. 
Captain J. 0, B. Crocker, promoted Captain October 2d, 1862, captured 

July 3d, 1N63, at Gettysburg and not exchanged. 
*Second 1 ientenani William S. Wright, resigned 1862, enlisted in Company 

K, wounded June 1st, 1862, at Seven Pines, promoted Adjutant 61st 

Virginia, dkd in fall of 1 803. 
Second Lieutenant Cornelius M. Dozier, killed July 1st, 1862, at Malvern 

Hill. 
First Lieutenant John C. Niemeyer, killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg 
First Lieutenant John Vermillion, wounded and captured July 3d, 1^63, 

Gettysburg, and not exchanged 
"Second Lieutenant Frank M Arthur, captured at Gettysburg, exchanged 

and captured April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 
"First Sergeant John H. Wright, promoted Captain Company H, 61st Vir- 
ginia, Regiment. 
First Sergeant McKemmy Lewis, promoted First Sergeant April, 1862, 

wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, and captured April 1st, 1865, at 

Five Forks. 
*Sergeant Charles Badger, died in hospital October 4th, 1862, Richmond. 
Sergeant Keely Harrison, transferred March 27th, 1862, to Company C, 

1 3th Virginia Cavalry. 
Sergeant Henry B. Lewer, wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, died July 

22d, Richmond. 
Sergeant Joseph Prentis, killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 
Sergeant Joshua M. Grimes, promoted Ensign, wounded July 1st, 1862, 

Malvern Hili, July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, May 16th, 1864, Drury's Bluff. 
*Sergeant William H. Vann, captured at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 
Sergeant T. J. Grimes, wounded. 
Corporal Henry Walton, wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, and July 

3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, promoted Color Corporal- 
Corporal Willis D. Bidgood, captured Julv 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, and April 

1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 
Corporal Lucillicus D. Jones, killed July 1st, 1862, at Malvern Hill. 
Corporal Belson Barnes, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, and cap- 
tured at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 

PRIVATES. 

Barnes. George. 

Barnes, J. E., detailed in Division Provost Guard. 
Bidgood, Nathaniel, furnished substitute 1862 and discharged. 
* Bidgood, J. O, furnished substitute 1862 and discharged. s 
Bidgood, J. H., discharged September 13th, 1862, for disability. 
Bidgood, Tully W., absent, sick in hospital. 

*Bain, John T., wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, died August 6th in 
hospital Richmond. 



CRANEY ISLAND ARTILLERY, CO. I, NINTH VA. INFANTRY. 91 

*Brinkley, Mills, killed Jul.v 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

*Brinkley, Granville, captured Julv 3d, 1803, at Gettysburg. 

*Brinkley, Daniel. 

*BrinKley, Mallory, died in hospital April 1st, 1862, Pinner's Point. 

Bunting, William H., transferred to Navy January 11th, 1862, 

Bunting, Lloyd, transferred to Company 0, 13th Virginia Cavalry. 

Bunting, Francis H., died in hospital March 27th, 1862, Pinner's Point. 

Bui-ley, William, killed 1864. Howlett House. 

Busby, William A., wounded April 13th, 1863, at Suffolk. 

*Crocker, W. H., captured September, 1862, died in Port Delaware. 

Carney, Richard, wounded August 28th, 1862, Warrenton Springs, and 
Julv 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

*Cox, William, died in hospital July 6th. 1862, Richmond. 

Capps, A. J., transferred to Company C, 13th Virginia Cavalry. 

Capps*, Josiah, captured July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, died at Point Lookout. 

Dennis, Samuel, transferred March 27th, 1862, to Company C, 13th Virginia 
Cavalry. 

Duncan, Blanch, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Duncan, John, captured at Five torts. 

Duncan, Richard, captured at Five Forks. 

*Dean, Edward G., discharged 1863 for disability. 

Daughtrey, William, died March 27th, 1862, in camp, Pinner's Point. 

Duke, Henry, transferred March 27th, 1862, to Company C, 13th Virginia 
Cavalry. 

*Duke, Nathaniel, wounded July 1st, 1862, at Malvern Hill, and disabled. 

Duke, Lewis. 

Evans, Charles, died in hospital 1864. 

Field, Richard. 

Gwynn, George W., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

*Gomer, John P., died in hospital 1864. Richmond. 

*Greene, Jesse, died in hospital November 28th, 1862, Richmond. 

George, J. W., supposed to have been killed 1865. 

Gurley, J., died in hospital 1864, Richmond. 

*Harrell, Elkana. 

*Harrell, Abram, discharged in 1863 for disability. 

Harrell, Edward. 

*Harrell, Josiah, died in hospital in 1862, Richmond. 

*Harrell, Reuben, captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg and died in prison. 

*Harrell, Henry, died in hospital in camp June, 1862, York River railroad. 

*Herriug, R. H., captured April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 

Henry, William C, transferred to Navy January 18th. 1862. 

*Humphlet, Jno. T., promoted Color Sergeant, wounded July 3d, 1863, at 
Gettysburg. 

Johnson, Thos., died in hospital in 1863, Richmond. 

Jones, Nathan E. K., wounded and captured July 3d. 1863, at Gettysburg. 

*Jones, Jas. G., died in hospital November 28th, 1862, Charlottesville. 

Jordan, John L., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, and captured 
April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 

Johnigan, Richard. 

Keeter, W. W., died in hospital November 20th, 1862, Staunton. 

King, James. 

King, Thomas, 

Lewis, William, detailed cook. 

Litchfield, Jacob, detailed cook. 

Lewis, Ambrose, died in hospital June 22d, 1862, Richmond. 

Lassiter, John, wounded August 28th, 1862, at Warrenton Springs, and 
died November 25th at Richmond. 

*Lassiter, Richard, wounded Julv 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, wounded at Suf- 
folk, April 13th, 1863. and captured at Five Forks. 

*Norfieet, Jesse, killed July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Parker, Thomas, killed July 1st, 1863, at Malvern Hill. 



92 NOB FOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Parker, W. J., captured April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 

*Parker, Jesse, captured April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 

Ruthledge, Anthony, died in hospital 1865, Richmond. 

Richardson, Geo. ('lay, captured April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 

*Rudd, Augustus S., died in hospital June 18th, 1862. 

*Riddick, Mills, wounded April 13th, 1863, at Suffolk, disabled and detailed 

in passport office, Petersburg. 
K Riddick, Amos, captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
*Raby, Thos., captured July 3d, 1863; at Gettysburg. 
;; 'Stallings, J. Van, captured April 1st. 1865, at Five Forks. 
Sarage, William, captured April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 
Spivey, Jetheo, transferred March 27th, 1862, to Company C, 13th Virginia 

Cavalry. 
Sawyer, Albert. 

Skeeter, W. J., surrendered April 9th. 1865, at Appomattox. 
Small, Benjamin. 

Savage, Mike L., died in hospital 1862, Pinner's Point. 
Spaulding, John A., 
^Stringer, John F., 

Taylor, Benj., captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Taylor, Williamson B., captured April 1st, 1865, at Five Forks. 
■Wann, Alfred, wounded April 13th, 1863, at Suffolk, and died in hospital. 
Wagner, James, detailed as Ordnance Sergeant. 
*Wilkins, Henry. 
*AVilkins, George. 
Wilson, A. J , transferred February 1st, 1862, to Company C, 13th Virginia 

Cavalry. 
*Wright, Jos. S., transferred April 30th. 1862, to Signal Corps. 
*Wright, J. Edwin, transferred April 30th, 1862, to Signal Corps. 

Killed and died-34. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE OLD DOMINION GUARD, COMPANY K, NINTH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

This company was organized in Portsmouth June 26th, 1856, 
and soon became one of the largest and most popular companies 
in Virginia. Even before the war it was nothing unusual for it 
to parade with from eighty to ninety men, and at the celebration 
of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown, which 
took place on that historic island in 1857, and which drew together 
the military companies of the entire State, the Old Dominion 
Guard was the largest company on the grounds. The first Captain 
of the company was Captain John W. Young, who was succeeded 
by Captain Edward Kearns. 

At the beginning of the late war the Old Dominion Guard was 
one of the companies in the 3d Virginia Regiment, and on the 
20th of April, 1861, it was ordered into active service by Governor 
Letcher, and remained in the field until the close of the war. 

On the night of the 20th the men were quartered in the Court 
House, and at da}d>reak on the 21st part of them were marched 
to the Navy Yard, with other troops, to take possession and guard 
property there, and the remainder were marched to the Naval 
Hospital point to build an earthwork to prevent the return of the 
United States vessels Pawnee and Cumberland, which had left 
the Navy Yard about 1 o'clock that morning. Subsequently the 
whole company went on duty at the Hospital point and remained 
there about a week, when it was detached from the 3d Regiment 
and ordered to Pinner's Point, just below the Hospital point, 
where they were shortly afterwards joined by the Craney Island 
Artillery under Captain John T. Kilby, one of the companies or- 
ganized in Norfolk county and subsequently attached to the 9th 
Virginia Regiment as Company I. Here a strong earthwork con- 
taining twelve guns, six and eight-inch Dahlgrens, was built under 
the supervision of Major F. W. Jett of the Engineer Corps, and 
later another earthwork, containing four six-inch rifle guns, was 
thrown up nearer the point. In June, 1861, the 9th Virginia 
Regiment was organized and the Old Dominion Guard was at- 
tached to it as Company K. The post at Pinner's Point was under 
command of Lieutenant George Harrison of the Navy, who held 
the brevet rank of Major, and who was assigned to that duty on 
account of his previous experience in the use of heavy guns. The 
younger members of the company soon learned Major Harrison's 
weak points, and he was the victim of many a practical joke. 

93 



94 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

When the company was mustered into service on the 20th of 
April the following were the officers: 

Captain — Edward Ream's. 

First Lieutenant — Dennis Vermillion. 

Second Lieutenant — L. A. Bilisoly. 

And shortly afterwards, while in camp at the Hospital point, 
Sergeant Henry A. Allen was elected Third Lieutenant. 

Camp life at Pinner's Point was not very exciting, and the main 
drawbacks were extra guard duty or temporary confinement in 
the guard house for going to town without leave of absence, re- 
strictions which the young soldiers regarded as extremely onerous 
and unnecessary. While there the company lost one of its mem- 
bers. Young Jacob W. Keeling died from pneumonia. He came 
from Suffolk, originally, and his remains were taken there for in- 
terment. A detachment from the company escorted the body to 
the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad depot in Norfolk. 

During the summer and fall the company occupied tents, but 
when cold weather set in, timber was sent to the camp and the 
company built very comfortable quarters. They were the best 
military quarters in the harbor, and, considering the fact that 
very few of the men had ever had any previous experience in 
that kind of work, they were marvels of comfort and conven- 
ience. 

While there the company enjoyed excellent health, and, on one 
occasion of inspection, while occupying the tents, there were 
one hundred and five men in line for duty. During the fall of 
the year, the season of chills and fevers, it was noticed that, 
while very few of the members of the Old Dominion Guard, a 
company raised exclusively in the city, were affected, Company 
I, which was on duty with them, and which was composed of 
men who were raised in the country, and nearly all of whom 
were used to hard work, had so many men on the sick list that 
Company R had to perform a part of their guard duty. This 
fact seems to bear out the theory that men raised in the cities 
can stand exposure better than those raised in the country. 

While at Pinner's Point the gallant Captain Reams made his 
first great and only attempt at oratory. The ladies of Ports- 
mouth made a very handsome silk flag for the Old Dominion 
Guard and selected Miss Virginia Handy, daughter of Rev. 1. W. 
R. Handy, of the Presbyterian Church, to make the presentation. 
The company was drawn up in line in a shady grove near the 
camp and a large number of ladies and other friends of the com- 
pany were present. Miss Handy, in very appropriate and touch- 
ing language, placed the handsome banner in the hands of Cap- 
tain Reams, " whose modesty was only excelled by his bravery." 
Captain Reams began his response, and it was his first effort. 
He said : "Miss Handy and Ladies of Portsmouth! — On behalf of 



OLD DOMINION GUARD, CO. K, NINTH VA, INFANTRY. 95 

the Old Dominion Guard, I accept this magnificent flag;, which 
will be our guide in the front of battle, and, if I falter ! " Here 
he forgot the rest of his carefully prepared speech, but he re- 
peated, "If I falter!!" but memory would not come to his aid, 
and, after a lengthened pause, drawing his sword hastily from its 
scabbard and Hashing it in the air, he exclaimed: "If I falter! I 
hope Christ may kill me ! ! " 

A roar of applause and laughter greeted this abrubt and unex- 
pected termination of the oration. 

When the company left Portsmouth with the regiment and the 
Confederate battle Hags were substituted for the State flags, this 
flag was left in Petersburg for safe keeping and disappeared in 
some way or other. The company never knew what became 
of it. 

Nearly half of the members of the Old Dominion Guard were 
young men under the age of twenty-one years and were full of 
life and enjoyment. On one occasion the Hospital steward, who 
was not averse to an occasional dip into " something strong," re- 
turned to camp from the city with a demijohn of sherry wine in 
his wagon, and stopping in front of the guard house, left it in the 
wagon and went into the building occupied by the officers as 
quarters and in which he kept his drugs. The sentry at the 
guard house reported the condition of affairs to the company's 
quarters, and in a very few minutes three of the boys appeared 
upon the scene with two buckets, one empty and the other full of 
water, and in less time than it would take to tell it the wine was 
transferred to the empty bucket and the demijohn was filled with 
water. Shortly after the embryo doctor came out 'for his "jug," 
carried it in the house and the officers were invited to partake. 
Their smiles were "childlike and bland" when they saw the pro- 
portions of the demijohn, but upon tasting its contents they 
classed the luckless apothecary as a "heathen Ciiinee." He pro- 
tested, however, that it was wine' when he left town. That night 
No. 6 and No. 9 messes, with their invited guests, enjoyed a wine 
supper with hardtack accompaniment. 

One night in the winter of 1S61-2, a little after dark, the sen- 
tinel on duty at the battery heard cries of distress and for help 
coining from down the river. A gale of wind was blowing from 
the north, which brought the sound directly to the battery. The 
officer of the guard was called and the camp was aroused, and 
notwithstanding the heavy gale which was blowing;, two frail 
skiffs were speedily manned by strong an 1 bravo men from 
both Company I and Company K and pushed forth i.i the teeth 
of the storm to rescue the drowning men. It was a severe strug- 
gle, but the brave hearts and strong arms of the oarsmen pre- 
vailed and two men who were found clinging to the piles which 
had been driven across the river near Lambert's Point by the 



§6 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Confederates to obstruct the channel, were brought back nearly 
dead from cold and exposure. They were members of Company 
D, 9th Virginia Infantry (the Jackson Artillery of Portsmouth), 
and were stationed on Craney Island. They were returning from 
Portsmouth in a sailboat to their camp, but the boat was upset by 
the storm, near the obstructions. They managed to catch hold of 
the piles, but a third man who was with them in the boat, Walter 
Harvey, of Portsmouth, of the same company, was drowned. The 
rescue" of those drowning men was as daring an act as was per- 
formed during the war. A terrible storm was raging, the waves 
were high and the cold spray was frozen upon the oarsmen as it 
was dashed over them in their frail skiffs. Unfortunately no re- 
cord was kept of the names of the brave rescuers, and they are 
therefore lost to history. The men who were saved were Leonard 
Cutherell and William Day. 

In April, 1802, one year after the original enlistment of the 
men, they re-enlisted in a body for the war and field an election 
of officers, with the following result : 

Captain — Dennis Vermillion. 

First Lieutenant — Edward Kearns. 

Second Lieutenant — Henry A. Allen. 

Third Lieutenant — L. A. Bilisoly. 

Captain Kearns declined to accept the 1st Lieutenantcy and re- 
signed, at the same time severing his connection with the com- 
pany of which he had been Captain almost from its organization 
in 1856. 

On the 10th of May the company received orders to burn their 
quarters and march with the rest of Huger's Division to the de- 
fence of Richmond, and of the one hundred and sixteen men who 
had been with the company during its stay at Pinner's Point, 
though they were leaving behind them their homes, mothers, sis- 
ters and sweethearts, soon to fall into the hands of the enemy, not 
one remained behind. The refusal of Captain Kearns to accept 
the 1st Lieutenantcy occasioned the promotion of 2d Lieutenant 
Allen to 1st Lieutenant, 3d Lieutenant Bilisoly to 2d, and Orderly 
Sergeant Robert M. Butler was elected 3d Lieutenant. The com- 
pany was united with the rest of the 9th Regiment at Dunn's 
Hill, near Petersburg, on the 12th of May, and its identity as a 
separate organization was lost in that of the regiment. Its history 
then became the history of the regiment. It participated in all 
the battles in which the regiment was engaged except the battle 
of Dru'ry's Bluff, May 16th, 1804, which took place while Com- 
pany K and also Company I were temporarily detached from the 
regiment on other duty, and while so detached was moved to the 
north side of Richmond to resist the advance of Sheridan's cav- 
alry raiders. 

Lieutenant Butler resigned after the battle of Seven Pines, 



OLD DOMINION GUARD, CO. K, NINTH YA. INFANTRY. 97 

June 1st, 18G2; Captain Vermillion was killed at the battle of 
Malvern Hill July 1st, 1862; Lieutenant Bilisoly was wounded at 
Seven Pines June 1st, 1862, and again wounded and disabled 
from further service at Second Manassas August 30th, 1862, and 
retired. Lieutenant Allen was promoted to Captain upon the 
death of Captain Vermillion, and was captured at the stone wall 
in the charge of Pickett's Division at Gettysburg July 3d, 1S63, 
and was kept a prisoner until the close of the war. He was one 
of the Confederate officers who were taken to Morris' Island, South 
Carolina, by the United States authorities and placed under the 
tire of the Confederate batteries defending Charleston harbor. 
He was not wounded during the war. 

While the regiment was on the march with Longstreet's Corps 
towards Suffolk in the spring of 1863 Henry C. Hudgins was 
elected 1st Lieutenant and James H. Robinson 2d Lieutenant. 
Lieutenant Hudgins was wounded early in the charge of Pickett's 
Division at Gettysburg, but recovered from his wound and com- 
manded the company till the close of the war. Lieutenant Rob- 
inson was severely wounded and captured at Gettysburg, was sub- 
sequently exchanged, recovered from his wound, and was with the 
company in the closing scenes of the drama, which culminated at 
Appomattox Court House. The following members of the com- 
pany were in the charge at Gettysburg : 

Captain Henry A. Allen, captured. 

First Lieutenant Henry C. Hudgins, wounded. 

Second Lieutenant James H. Robinson, Avounded and captured. 

First Sergeant James H. Walker, captured. 

Second Sergeant Adolph Bilisoly, wounded. 

Third Sergeant Thomas J. Dashiell, captured. 

Fourth Sergeant William Wallace Williams, captured. 

Third Corporal R. B. James, wounded. 

PRIVATES. 

E. E. Bilisoly, wounded, Robt. T. Daughtrey, captured, 

E. K. Brooks, captured, Wm. Walter Dyson, 

Thos. R. Borland, wounded, Andrew C. Host, wounded, 

Geo. W. Barnes, wounded, Joseph W. Jordan, wounded and 

J. C. A. Davis, wounded.. captured, 

John A. F. Dunderdale, killed, Edward B. Williams, wounded. 

Thus of the nineteen men who went into the fight eighteen 
were either killed, wounded or captured. The company lost 
heavily in the battles of Seven Pines, Malvern Hill and Five 
Forks. In this last battle the 9th Regiment bore the brunt of 
the flank attack of Warren's corps of General Grant's army. 
George W. Barnes, of Company K, carried the colors of the regi- 
ment in that engagement. 

Below will be found a roll of the company to May, 1862, em- 
bracing the Portsmouth men. Later in the war a number of 



98 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

conscripts were sent to it, but as they were from other portions 
of the State, their names are omitted. 

Captain Edward Kearns, resigried 1862. 

Captain Dennis Vermillion, killed Malvern Hill July 1st, 1862. 

First Lieutenant L. Augustus Bilisoly, wounded at Seven Pines June 1st 
and Second Manassas August 30th, 1862, and retired. 

Captain Henry A. Allen, captured at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863, and not 
exchanged. 

Third Lieutenant Robert M. Butler, resigned 1862. 

First Lieutenant Henry C. Hudgins, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Second Lieutenant James H. Robinson, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettys- 
burg. 

Bilisoly, A. L., promoted 1st Lieutenant P. A. C. S. 

Brown, Samuel Y., Sergeant, appointed hospital steward. 

Benson, F. R., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 

Benson, F. L., Commissary Sergeant, appointed hospital steward. 

Bilisoly, Adolphus, promoted Sergeant, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettys- 
burg. 

Bilisoly, U. B., wounded April 1st, 1865, Five Forks. 

Bilisoly, Joseph L., detailed as Sergeant Major July, 1863, appointed hos- 
pital steward February, 1864. 

Bilisoly, J. J., promoted Lieutenant Company D. 61st Virginia. 

Brown, James W., transferred to Norfolk Light Artillery Blues May, 1862. 

Bilisoly, E. E., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Brown, Joe Sam, transferred to Norfolk Light Artillery Blues May, 1862. '. 

Brooks, E. K. 

Brooks. Tudor F., discharged physical disability 1862, and employed in 
Commissarv Department. 

Blamire, E. B. * 

Borland, Thomas R., wounded slightly July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Bennett, John C, killed at Malvern Hill July 1st, 1862. 

Barnes, George W., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Beeks, G. W., discharged 1862, under age. 

Butler, George W. 

Butt, Josiah, discharged 1861, physical disability. 

Bennett, William M. 

Cutherell, George A., wounded at Suffolk April 13th, 1863, and discharged. 

Collins, A. E. 

Crocker, James F., promoted Adjutant 9th Virginia Regiment, wounded 
July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Cocke, John N. 

Cocke, William H., appointed vVssistant Surgeon- 14th Virginia and mortally 
wounded April, 1865. 

Cassell, Charles E., promoted 1st Lieutena,nt Topographical Engineers. 

Crismond, James P., detached for naval service 1861. 

Collins, William B., promoted Ordnance Sergeant. 

Creekmur, Charles J., appointed Paymaster's Clerk in Navy. 1862. 

Cherry, Eugene. 

Dyson, W. Walter. 

Dent, William, detached 1861. 

Dashiell, Thomas J., slightly wounded at Five Forks, promoted Sergeant. 

Daughtrey. Robert T. 

Davis, J. C. A., wounded Julv 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Dunderdale. J. A. F., killed at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863. 

Foreman, William N., wounded at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 

Foster, Frank S., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 

Foster, A. R., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862, and died in hospital 
1864. 

Forbes, Thomas N., died 1862, wounded Seven Pines June 1st, 1862. 



OLD DOMINION GUARD, CO. K, NINTH VA. INFANTRY. 99 

Fiske, Melzar G., killed at Malvern Hill July 1st. 1862. 
Gray, J. N. (Sergeant), discharged Juue, 1861, physical disability. 
Godwin, Leroy C., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Grant, L. H., drummer. 

Guthrie, Benjamin W., appointed Master in Navy. 
Griffin, Cornelius. 

Hambleton, William H., killed at Warrenton Springs August 28th, 1862. 
Handy, S. 0., died June 10th, 1862, in hospital, Richmond. 
Hargroves, W. W., transferred to a North Carolina regiment. 
Host, Andrew G, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Hudgins, J. Madison, promoted to Captain and A. C. S. 
Hume, R. G, transferred to Norfolk Light Artillery Blues May, 1862. 
Hobday, A. T., transferred to Commissary Department. 
James, R. B., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Jordan, 0. D., discharged July 1st, 1861, disability. 
Jack, E. A., appointed Engineer in Navy. 

Jordan, Joseph W., died of wounds received at Gettysburg, 1863. 
Kilby. W. T., transferred to Norfolk Light Artillery Blues May, 1862. 
Keeling, Joseph W., died in hospital 1861. 
King, Leslie R., appointed Engineer in Navy. 
Lewis. Jacob, detailed for hospital duty, over age. 
Langhorne, John G, appointed Captain's Clerk in Navy. 
Langhorne, William S., discharged, under age. September, 1862, and en- 
listed in Signal Corps. 
Moore, Joseph P., transferred to Norfolk Light Artillery Blues May, 1862. 
Myers, Robert W., discharged, physical disability, and died. 
Morris, Charles S., slight wound at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 
Neaville, William A., wounded and disabled at Seven Pines June 1st, 1862. 
Niemever, John C, promoted 1st Lieutenant Company I, 9th Virginia, and 

killed at Gettysburg July 3d, 1863. 
Niemever, Henry V., discharged, under age, September, 1862, and enlisted 

in Signal Corps. 
Owens, Charles. 

Parrish, James H., promoted Surgeon C. S. A., Chambliss' Brigade. 
Parker, Willis M. 

Pierce, Thomas W., appointed Major and Quartermaster. 
Pierce, William 11., killed on picket Juue, 1862, near Richmond. 
Porter, John W. H., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Richardson, John II., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Rodman, Robert C. 

Richardson, N. F.. transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Richardson, Charles L\, transferred to North Carolina regiment. 
Reid, Charles, transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Riddick, James W., promoted Captain and» Adjutant General Scales' North 

Carolina Brigade and severely wounded. 
Rudd, Benjamin F., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Smith, William A., died 1.862. 

Smith, William Alfred, transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Smith, John, discharged 18(">2, over age. 

Smith, Herbert L. , transferred to Company I, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 
Smith, Arthur, transferred to Company I, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 
Savage, T. J., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Turner, G. M., discharged June, 1861, disability. 
Tabb, William H., promoted Sergeant Major 3d Regiment and detailed 

1862 to work in Navy Yard. 
Vermillion, John, promoted 2d Lieutenant Company I, 9th Virginia, 

wounded at Gettysburg. 
A T ermillion, Alex. P. 
Vermillion, G. S., discharged September, 1862, under age, and enlisted in 

Signal Corps. 
White, Thomas J., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 



100 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

White, Frank J., promoted Surgeon C. S. A. 

Walker, James H., promoted to 1st Sergeant. 

Wingfield, R. C. M., transferred to Norfolk Light Artillery Blues May, 1862. 

Williams, David A., wounded and disabled at Seven Pines June 1st, 1862. 

Williams, David E., captured at Five Forks April 1st, 1865. 

Woodley, Joseph R., promoted Lieutenant in Signal Corps April, 1862. 

Williams, Luther, wounded and disabled at Seven Pines June 1st, 1862. 

Williams, W. Wallace, promoted to Sergeant. 

Williams, Ed. B., wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Williams, A. J., appointed hospital steward. 

Williams, Thomas H. 

Wilson, William H. 

Wright, William S., wounded at Seven Pines, promoted Adjutant 61st Vir- 
ginia and died 1863. 

Williamson, Lewis W., appointed hospital steward. 

Young, M. P., appointed Engineer in Navy. 

Young, C. W., transferred to Signal Corps April, 1862. 
Killed and died — 1 (>. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE NINTR VIRGINIA REGIMENT ARMISTEAd's, BARTON'S, STEW- 
ART^ BRIGADE HUGER'S, ANDERSON^, PICKETT'S DIVISIONS. 

We have traced the histories of Companies D, G and K, of 
Portsmouth, and Company I, of Norfolk county, from the be- 
ginning of the war until they lost their identity in the organiza- 
tion of the 9th Virginia Regiment of Infantry, and as their sub- 
sequent record is embraced in that of the regiment, it can be 
told best by recording the movements and battles in which the 
regiment was engaged. The actual date of the formation of the 
regiment has been lost for the reason that the field officers were 
not originally elected by the company officers, but were assigned 
to it by Governor Letcher while the companies were stationed in 
different localities, but the companies were assigned to it some 
time in June, 1861, and were as follows : 

Company A, the McRea Rifles, of Petersburg, Captain James 
Gilliam. 

Company B, the Baltimore Artillery, of Baltimore, Capt. John 
D. Myrick. 

Company C, the Chesterfield Yellow Jackets, of Chesterfield 
county, Capt. John Mason. 

Company D, the Virginia Artillery, of Portsmouth, Captain 
Wm. J. Richardson. 

Company E, the Isle of Wight Blues, of Isle of AVight 
county, Capt. John Shevers. 

Company F, Chuckatuck Light Artillery, of Nansemond 
county, Capt. James J. Phillips. 

Company G, the Portsmouth Rifles, of Portsmouth, Captain 
John C. Owens. 

Company II, the Salem Artillery, of Salem, Captain Happ. 

Company I, the Craney Island Artillery, of Norfolk county, 
Capt. J. T. Kilby. 

Company K, the Old Dominion Guard, of Portsmouth, Capt. 
Edward Kearns. 

At the time of the formation of the regiment in June, 1861, 
the companies composing it were distributed among the various 
fortifications around the harbor of Portsmouth and Norfolk, 
doing duty as heavy artillerists as well as infantry. Companies 
A, B, C, 1) and LI were on Craney Island, where the regimental 
headquarters were located. Companies E and F were at Day's 
Point, Company G was at Pig Point and Companies I and K 
were at Pinner's Point. The officers of the regiment who were 
assigned to it by Governor Letcher, were Colonel Francis H. 

101 



102 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel John T. L. Preston, Major Stapleton 
Crutchfield, Adjutant Thomas Smith. All of these officers were 
attached to the faculty of the Virginia Military Institute, and 
before the evacuation of Portsmouth by the Confederates, Colonel 
Smith and Lieutenant-Colonel Preston Avere returned to their 
duties at that institution, and Major Crutehfield was elected Major 
of the 58th Virginia Regiment. After their derjarture, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel DeLagnel, of the regular army, commanded the post 
at Craney Island until the 10th of May, 1862, when it was evac- 
uated, and Major Harden seems to have been in immediate com- 
mand of the 0th Regiment until it assembled at Petersburg on 
the 1.2th. 

Upon the receipt of orders to evacuate their batteries, the scat- 
tered companies of the regiment marched by different roads to 
Suffolk, and from there were carried by rail to Petersburg and 
quartered on Dunn's hill to the north of that city, across the 
Appomattox river, and, on the 21st, orders were received for the 
company officers to elect field officers. The election was held the 
following day, and the officers elected were: Colonel, Johnston 
DeLagnel; Lieutenant-Colonel, D. J. Godwin; Major, James 
Gilliam. 

Colonel DeLagnel having been appointed to a position which 
was more satisfactory to him, declined to accept the command of 
the 9th, and Lieutenant-Colonel Godwin was promoted to Colo- 
nel, Major Gilliam to Lieutenant Colonel, and Captain John C. 
Owens, of the Portsmouth Rifles, was elected Major ; Private J. 
F. Crocker, of Company K, was appointed Adjutant, and Pri- 
vate C. T. Phillips, of Company G, Sergeant Major ; hence all of 
the field and staff officers, except the Lieutenant Colonel, were 
from Portsmouth. 

On the 24th of May, Companies A, D and II were detached 
from the regiment and sent to man batteries in the fortifications 
of Richmond. Company D was ordered back after the battle of 
Malvern Hill, Company A rejoined in the fall of 1864 on the 
lines in front of Bermuda Hundreds, but Company II was not 
with the regiment again. It was given a battery of field guns 
and thus was turned from an Infantry to a Light Artillery Com- 
pany. Company I, also, was absent on other duty at the battle 
of Seven Pines. The other companies of the regiment remained 
in camp on Dunn's hill until the 29th, w T hen, with three days' 
rations, the command was marched at 7 a. m. to the depot in Pe- 
tersburg to take the cars for Richmond, but remained at the depot 
until 6 p. m. before the cars were ready for them ; and after get- 
ting on the cars tbey were four hours making the twenty-two 
miles to that city. That night the men made their beds on the 
grass in the capitol square, and the next morning at 7 o'clock 
marched to Blakely's farm in Henrico county. The regiment 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 103 

was there assigned to Armistead's Brigade, Huger's Division, com- 
posed of the 9thj 14th and 53d Virginia Regiments, and the 5th 
Virginia Battalion, and began in reality the life of a soldier. 
Up to that time the men had been sheltered in tents or comfort- 
able quarters, and their first night in the field was passed amid a 
terrible down-ponr of rain', without shelter of any hind. 

On the 31st of May the regiment received orders to march to 
Seven Pines with the brigade, and at night slept in a camp of 
the enemy from which they had been driven during the battle of 
that day. The Federal dead and wounded lay thick all around 
them, and the boys enjoyed the lemons, sugar and other delica- 
cies which they found in the deserted camp. 

The next day, June 1st, proved the unfitness of the com- 
mander of that part of the Confederate army for the position he 
occupied. At 7 a. m. the 9th Regiment moved forward, under 
orders, about three hundred yards in advance of their camp of 
the night before, without pickets or skirmishers in front, and 
were told not to fire, that Pry or 1 s Brigade was in front of them. 
The line was halted in a thick, swampy woods and the order was 
given to stack arms. The men were in fancied security, their 
guns not loaded, and, while obeying the order to stack, a line of 
battle of the enemy, occupying a position in their front, poured 
a volley of musketry into them at close range. The surprise was 
complete, but the men fell down upon the ground and began to 
load and fire in return. The left of the line, however, did the 
most sensible thing they could do, namely, fell back out of range 
of the fire, and as this exposed the flank of the 9th Regiment, 
that fell back also. It was evident that the Confederate com- 
mander in that part of the field did not know either the positions 
of his own troops or of the enemy, though there had been fight- 
ing all the day before, and that the lives of the men would be 
sacrificed without any special object in view or plan to be carried 
"out. General Armistead afterwards did what he could to repair 
the mishap. He seized a Virginia state flag, and, having rallied 
the men in his brigade, led them forward again to the position 
from which they had retired, better preparad to do battle. While 
they were thus' engaging the enemy, the 3d Alabama Regiment 
passed through them and charged the enemy's works, but the po- 
sition was too strong to be carried by a direct assault and the Ala- 
bamians were repulsed with heavy loss, among the killed being 
their commander, Colonel Lomax, who was left dead upon the 
field. The 9th Virginia then fell back about a hundred yards 
out of range of the lire, and the enemy made no attempt to fol- 
low. Later in the afternoon the 9th was ordered to rejoin the 
brigade, and thus ended its connection with this unfortunate^ affair 
in which many brave men lost their lives without accomplishing 
anything thereby, and from which great results might have fol- 



104 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

lowed, had tlie movements of the division been wisely directed ; 
but as it was even the simples*: ordinary means were neglected to 
ascertain the position and strength of the enemy. The men in 
the ranks could plainly see that the battle was being fought on 
that portion of the field without any special plan or purpose, and 
were not, therefore, buoyed up by that confidence which inspires 
a soldier when he feels that his movements are being directed by 
wisdom, even though his life is being risked for success. 

Colonel Godwin's horse was wounded by a minie ball in the 
battle of Seven Pines and bruised the Colonel's leg quite pain- 
fully by running against a tree. Colonel Godwin left the field 
in consequence thereof and the command of the regiment de- 
volved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Gilliam; and, as Colonel Godwin 
was afterwards assigned to other duties and never rejoined the 
regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Gilliam became its permanent com- 
mander. General Armistead, however, was not friendly towards 
him and prevented his promotion, so that in 1868 he tendered his 
resignation and Major Owens became Colonel, Captain James 
Jasper Phillips was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and Captain 
Win, J. Richardson was promoted to Major. 

• During the month of June a number of small engagements 
took place in front of that portion of the Confederate lines held 
by Huger's Division. On the 20th Sickles' Brigade advanced 
beyond their entrenchments, but was driven back by the 1st 
Louisiana Regiment, On the 21st Sickles' Brigade, reinforced by 
Meagher's Brigade, attempted to advance their positions but the 
1st Louisiana, 4th Georgia and a regiment of North Carolina reg- 
ulars attacked them and forced them to retire within their original 
lines. At the same time the 16th Massachusetts, which attempted 
an advance, was driven back by the 53d Virginia. The 9th 
Virginia had a severe picket fight with the enemy in its front and 
on the 25th had another skirmish, in which it captured a number 
of prisoners. The engagement of the 25th was an extensive affair 
but the 9th regiment was not heavily engaged in it, On the 21st 
Armistead's Brigade was reinforced by the addition of the 38th 
Regiment, which from that time became permanently attached to 
it, and on the 28th the 57th Virginia also was attached to it. 

On the 26th was fought the battle of Mechanicsville, the first 
of the seven days battles. McClellan's advanced position, his ex- 
treme right, was attacked and carried, those of the enemy who 
escaped fell back upon Gaines' Mill, where General Lee made an 
attack on the 27th. McClellan had reinforced his troops in that 
locality. The battle was a complete victory for the Confederates 
and McClellan began his return to Harrison's landing on the 
James river, his sole object being to save as much of his army as 
possible. Being a part of the right wing of General Lee's army, 
and the battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines' Mill having been 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 105 

fought on the left, Armistead's Brigade was not engaged in either 
of them and remained in position until the 29th, when it was 
ordered forward, down the Charles City road, in the direction of 
the enemy. That day an advance of ten miles was made and the 
brigade lay all night in line of battle. 

On the next day, June 30th, the brigade moved forward at 7 
a. m. under orders from General Lee, to intercept McClellan's 
retreat. The whole division was up, but the march was so slow 
and the halts so frequent that by 4 o'clock in the afternoon only 
seven miles had been passed over in the nine hours the troops had 
been marching, and a halt was made at 1 p. m., when the brigade 
went into camp for the night, though it lacked three hours of 
sundown. The brigade had not fired a shot during the day, and 
during the night McClellan inarched his whole army by in safety 
and fortified the heights of Malvern Hill. 

The blundering which had marked his operations on the right 
wing of the army up to that time continued to mark the counsels 
of the leaders, and the bravery of the troops could not counteract 
the mistakes of the generals. The 9th Regiment was aroused 
about day break on the morning of the 1st of July, arrived on the 
field in front of Malvern Hill about 1 o'clock p. m., and was kept 
in line of battle, exposed to the fire of nearly a hundred guns, the 
heaviest artillery fire of the war, for three hours, and, having 
stood the storm of shell and other deadly missiles for that length 
of time without firing a musket in reply, was marched to a ravine 
on their immediate right and a little in rear of a piece of rising 
ground from which two rifle guns of Grimes' Battery, of Ports- 
mouth, without any assistance, were trying to silence nearly the 
whole of the artillery in McClellan's army. 

After a short interval of rest, from a half-hour to an hour, the 
regiment was ordered to charge the enemy's guns and their in- 
fantry supports, and the men moved forward on a run, cheering 
as they went. They rushed over a long flat piece of ground, 
down a valley, up the opposite hill, down into another depression 
and up the hill, upon the top of which were a hundred cannon 
and forty thousand men, firing at them showers of shell, grape, 
canister and minie balls. It was like sending a small terrier to 
charge an elephant, and the long list of killed and wounded testify 
to the bravery of the men and the incompetency of the comman- 
der who sent them upon their hopeless errand. The color ser- 
geant of the 9th Regiment was wounded and the flag-staff was 
shot in two, but Captain Kilby, of Company 1, of Norfolk county, 
picked the flag up and brought it off the field. After its repulse 
the regiment fell back to the depression in the ground nearest to 
the enemy's line and, partially sheltered by the rising ground in 
front, continued the engagement until long after dark, when the 
battle ended and the troops were re-called from the field. The 



106 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

regiment lost heavily in this battle. Captain Dennis Vermillion 
and Privates John C. Bennett and Melzar G. Fiske, of the Old 
Dominion Guard, of Portsmouth, were killed, as were also Ser- 
geant Win. II. White, of the Portsmouth Rifles, and Lieutenant 
Cornelius Dozier and Sergeant Joseph Prentis, of Company I, of 
Norfolk comity. Sergeant Prentis was a gallant boy not more 
than eighteen years of age, and was the son of Mr. Robert Pren- 
tiss, who, for a number of years before the war, was Proctor at 
the University of Virginia. His body was recovered the clay after 
the battle and was found to be nearer the works of the enemy 
than any other. Sergeant Henry B. Lewer, Corporal Lucillicus 
Jones and Private Thos. Parker also were killed. Adjutant 
James F. Crocker was seriously wounded and did not rejoin the 
regiment until October, 1802. Grimes' Battery distinguished 
itself at Malvern Hill and made a reputation for gallantry which 
was marked, even in that army where gallant deeds were common. 
Plad a Jackson commanded the right wing of General Lee's army 
General McClellan's retreat would have been cut off before he 
reached Malvern Hill and his army possibly captured. The posi- 
tions of the two lines would have been reversed and he would 
have been compelled to have carried Malvern Hill himself by 
assault in order to have effected his escape. The result would 
not have been in doubt. His attack would have been repulsed in 
front while Jackson's, Hill's and Longstreet's Divisions would 
have closed in on his rear. For official reports of this battle see 
further on. 

After the battle of Malvern Hill General R. H. Anderson was 
appointed commander of Huger's Division. The 9th Regiment 
was moved back toward Richmond and on the 9th of July crossed 
the James river into Chesterfield county and went into camp at 
Falling creek, where the men were put to work drilling daily and 
building earthworks. On the 16th of August the regiment 
marched to Richmond and took the cars for Louisa courthouse, 
reaching there at midnight. This movement was in connection 
with the advance of the army against General Pope, which cul- 
minated in the v second battle at Manassas and the invasion of 
Maryland. Marching through Louisa and Orange counties, the 
men forded the Rapidan at Summerville, marched through Cul- 
peper county and crossed the Orange and Alexandria railroad at 
Brandy Station. On the 24th the regiment had a skirmish with 
Federal cavalry on the opposite side of the Rappahannock river 
and on the 25th pushed across the river into Fauquier county. 
On the 28th it had a very severe fight at Warrenton Springs with 
the enemy's infantry and artillery, in which private Wm. II. 
Hambleton, of the Old Dominion Guard, and Augustus Johnson, 
drummer of the Portsmouth Rifles, and Ordinance Sergeant Giot, 
of Norfolk county, were among the killed, and Lieutenant-Colonel 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 107 

Gilliam and Major Owens were wounded. On the 20 th the inarch 
was resumed at 3:30 p. m. The brigade passed through Thorough- 
fare Gap and halted until 11 p. m., when the march was again 
resumed and continued all night. Passing through Haymarket 
and Drainsville, the brigade arrived on the battle field at Manassas 
about daybreak on the morning of the 30th. By an unexplained 
mistake the brigade was marched inside the Federal lines but 
withdrew quiety without being discovered and, marching back 
about a mile, the men lay down to rest and sleep, while waiting 
for orders. Anderson's Division was the rear division of the 
army and Armistead's Brigade was the rear of the division, so 
that, with their arrival, General Lee had his whole army at hand. 
History has described the second battle of Manassas. It has 
told how Jackson, by his grand flank march, placed himself in 
rear of General Pope's army ,ai-rcMrntercepted his retreat upon 
Washington ; how Pope attacked him on the 20th of August but 
was repulsed with overwhelming loss; how Jackson maintained 
his position with his right resting on the Warrenton turnpike, 
along which General Lee was advancing with Longstrcets corps to 
reinforce him ; how General Lee formed his army in the shape of 
a letter V, with Jackson's corps on the left and Longstreet's on 
the right, and when Pope, on the morning of 30th, advanced to 
renew the attack upon Jackson, Longstreet's corps struck his 
flank. It has recorded also the important part which Anderson's 
Division of Longstreet's corps played in that great battle. It 
held the enemp in check until the time had arrived for a general 
advance along the whole line, when it joined in the grand rush of 
infantry and artillery, and the Federal lines in its front were 
swept out of existence. Guns, flags, stores and innumerable 
prisoners fell into its possession. During the battle Armistead's 
Brigade had orders to support Mahone's Brigade of the same 
division, which was in the front line, but Mahone's Brigade never 
faltered. It made a grand charge that day and covered itself 
with glory, and therefore Armistead's Brigade had no opportunity 
to get into the front line but followed it in reserve. The brigade 
was not an actual participant in the battle to the extent of en- 
gaging the enemy, though it was continuously exposed to the fire 
of the Federal artillery and lost a number of men, among them 
Private Lewis Whitfield, of the Portsmouth Rifles, Co. G, 0th 
Va. He was from North Carolina, and was attending school at 
the Virginia Collegiate Institute in Portsmouth when the war 
broke out, and as several of his school friends joined the Rifles he 
joined that company also. He was killed by a shell, which tore 
away one of his hips. 

•■■ Armistead's Brigade and the 0th Regiment with it, moved on 
with the army into Maryland, took part in the investment and 
capture of Harper's Ferry, which surrendered September 14th, 



108 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

with 12,000 prisoners and 73 guns, and at 1 p. m. on the loth 
started to rejoin General Lee, who was concentrating his army at 
Sharpshurg. The regiment crossed the Potomac into Virginia, 
made a detour through Jefferson county, recrossed the Potomac 
at Shephcrdtown and reached the battle field at Sharpshurg at 9 
a. m. on the 17th, in time to take part in the repulse of Sumner's 
corps, which was pressing heavily upon the Confederate left and 
left centre. General Lee in this battle, with 35,000 men, held his 
ground all day and repulsed General McClellan's assaults, with 
90,000 men, and held possession of the battle field. General 
McClellan made no attempt to renew the battle the next day and 
as General Lee had nearly exhausted his supply of ammunition 
and was far from his base of supplies, he decided to fallback into 
Virginia. The 9th Virginia remained on the field until 3 p. m. 
on the 18th, when it fell back to the Potomac, recrossed at Shep- 
herdtown and was retained on picket duty on the banks of the 
river on the Virginia side. The army marched by easy stages to 
Fredericksburg, the 9th Virginia arriving there on the 26th of 
November and remained in the lines until the 13th of December 
in momentary expectation of an attack by the Federal army, then 
under General Burnside, who had succeeded General McClellan. 
On that day was fought the battle of Fredericksburg. Burnside 
crossed his army over the Rappahannock river on the 12th, and 
early on the morning of the 13th advanced to turn the Confeder- 
ate right under Jackson, but was driven bade. Later assaults by 
Couch's and Wilcox's corps and one division of Hooker's corps 
upon the Confederate centre under Longstreet, were easily re- 
pulsed with heavy slaughter among the attacking columns. The 
9th Virginia was in the Confederate line of battle but as the battle 
was fought on the defensive by General Lee and the enemy did 
not assail that part of the lines, they were more spectators than 
actual participants in the battle. A little to the right of the po- 
sition held by the 9th Virginia, a brigade of Federals had secured 
a position in a railroad cut or an excavation of a similar character, 
but the 57th North Carolina Regiment, commanded by Colonel 
Archibald C. Godwin, of Portsmouth, (afterward promoted to 
Brigadier-General and killed in Early's campaign in the Valley) 
made a gallant charge upon them and drove them out. 

The Regiment remained in the vicinity of Fredericksburg until 
the 15th of February, 1863, when the movement of Pickett's and 
Hood's Divisions, under Longstreet, towards Suffolk was begun. 
Shortly before then Armistead's Brigade had been taken from 
Anderson's Division and put in the Division of Virginia troops, 
under General Pickett. The Regiment broke camp near Freder- 
icksburg on the 15th and on the evening of the 16th reached* 
Hanover Junction. That night snow fell to the depth of about 
ten inches and the men were marched ten miles through it. On 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 109 

the night of the 18th a deluge of rain came down, and the 19th 
witnessed them wading through slush and mud about knee deep, 
through. Richmond and Manchester, into Chesterfield county. 
On the 20th they reached Chester Station and went into camp, 
remaining there until the 1st of March, as the 'ground was cov- 
ered with snow all the time. On the 1st of March the regiment 
moved on through Petersburg, where it remained until the 20th, 
and then pushed ahead to the vicinity of Suffolk. Here an at- 
tack was made on the enemy, who were driven back to the town, 
and the Portsmouth and Norfolk county boys in Pickett's Divi- 
sion were in high spirits, hoping that the army would keep on to 
Portsmouth and they could once more meet their families and 
friends, but the object of General Longstreet's movement there 
was to collect provisions, and after accomplishing that object, he 
returned with his army, Hood's and Pickett's Divisions, to the 
main army of General Lee. He reached Manchester May 16th. 
Armistead's Brigade was in camp near Hanover Junction from 
May 18th to June 3d, when it was sent to King William county 
to meet a raiding party of Federal cavalry which was reported to 
be advancing in that direction, returning to Hanover Junction on 
the 7th. On the 8th the brigade started on the march for Penn- 
sylvania. The 9th Pegiment inarched through the counties of 
Caroline, Spottsylvania, Orange, Culpepper, Fauquier, Loudoun, 
Clarke, Jefferson and Berkley, crossed the Potomac river at "Wil- 
liamsport on the 25th, and at 1 o'clock p. m. on the 2d of July, 
went into camp within five miles of Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania. 
There had been heavy fighting that day between the enemy and 
the corps of A. P. Hill and Ewell and part of Longstreet's and it 
was felt that the 3d would be decisive of great events. 

The division (Pickett's) moved forward from camp at 3 a. m. 
on the 3d, and after being halted twice on the road, reached the 
battle field at 10 o'clock and remained drawn up in line, under 
the shelling of the Federal artillery until 3 p. m., when it was 
ordered to storm the entrenched position held by the enemy on 
the top of Cemetery Hill. This charge has become historic. 
Pickett's Division of three brigades — Kemper's, Garnett's and 
Armistead's, and numbering 4,500 men, rank and file, after lying 
for five hours under a burning July sun, exposed to the shelling 
of the Federal batteries, marched at ordinary quick step more 
than three-quarters of a mile across an open field, up the hill to a 
stone wall, behind which lay more than ten thousand Federal 
troops and sixty pieces of artillery, which were playing upon 
them as they advanced, drove the gunners from their cannon and 
the infantry from the Avail, captured the position and hundreds of 
prisoners at an immense sacrifice of life, and, looking back^ over 
nearly a mile of open field for Hood's and McLaws' Divisions 
which were expected to support them, found that neither had 
started. Somebody had blundered. 



110 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Colonel Walter H. Taylor, General Lee's Adjutant General, in 
bis admirable work, "Four Years with General Lee," lays the 
blame on General Longstreet for keeping back those two divis- 
ions, as it was General Lee's order that they should support 
Pickett's charge. It is due to General Longstreet to say that he 
denies having received any order to that effect, and held the two 
divisions to repel an anticipated Federal attack on his right ; but 
as General Meade was fighting a defensive battle entirely, there 
seems to have been no reasonable ground for such an apprehen- 
sion. However, the fact remains that those of Pickett's men 
who escaped the showers of grape, canister and leaden hail, and 
reached the stone wall, found themselves nearly a mile from any 
reinforcements, while more than three-fourths of the army re- 
mained idle spectators of their devotion, with every general of 
brigade and nearly every field officer of lower grade killed or dis- 
abled from wounds and with no one left to assume direction of 
affairs, while the enemy was concentrating against them a force 
ten times their number. They held the captured works and a 
number of prisoners for about twenty minutes when, finding 
themselves about to be surrounded and knowing that to remain 
there meant death or captivity, for half of General Meade's 
army was moving against them, the men began to retire. Some 
got back safely to their own lines, but they were few. 

Only three brigades were in the charge. Generals Armistead 
and Garnett were killed and General Kemper severely wounded. 
Colonel Jno. C. Owens, of Portsmouth, commanding the 9th 
Virginia, was mortally wounded and died in the field hospital 
•about 2 o'clock that night. Colonel J. G. Hodges, of Ports- 
mouth, commanding the 11th Virginia, was killed. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Phillips, of the 9th, and Lieutenant-Colonel White, of 
the 14th, of Norfolk county, were wounded, and Major Puchard- 
son, of Portsmouth, of the 9th Virginia, was captured. Adju- 
tant John S. Jenkens, of Portsmouth, of the 14th, was killed, 
and, of the officers of the five Portsmouth and two Norfolk 
county companies in the charge, Lieutenants Guy, Company B, 
and Mitchell, Company II, 3d Virginia, and Niemeyer, Company 
I, 9th Virginia, were killed, and Captain Hodges and Lieutenant 
White, of Company A, 3d Virginia, Lieutenants Vermillion, 
Company I, Tonkin and Gale, Company G, and Hudgins and 
Robinson, Company K, 9th Virginia were wounded, and Captains 
Whitehead, Company H, 3d Virginia, Allen, Company K, 
Crocker, Company I, and Weaver, Company D, 9th Virginia, and 
Lieutenants Gary, Company A, Gleason, Company B, 3d Vir- 
ginia, and Lewis, Company G, 9th Virginia, were captured. Of 
eighteen commissioned officers who were in the charge with the 
seven Portsmouth and Norfolk county companies, only one — 
Lieut. Richard Vermillion — escaped. Three were killed, seven 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. HI 

were wounded and seven were captured. Adjutant Crocker, of the 
9th, of Portsmouth, was captured ; Lieutenants Guy and Mitchell 
were killed by the shelling, previous to the advance ; Sergeant 
Robert A. Hutchings, of Company B, of Portsmouth, caught up 
the colors of the 3d Virginia, when Color Sergeant Gray, of 
Dinwiddie county was shot, and carried them to the stone wall, 
and Joshua Grimes, of Company I, of Norfolk county, was 
ensign of the 9th Virginia and carried the colors of that regi- 
ment to within twenty yards of the wall when he was severely- 
wounded and fell, but Corporal Lemuel II. Williams, of the 
Portsmouth Rifles, Company G, picked them up and carried them 
to the stone wall where he was killed. General Armistead 
led the charge of his brigade on foot, with his hat on the point of 
his sword, and had scaled the stone wall and stood beside a cap- 
tured cannon, with his hand resting on it, when he was killed by 
a musket ball. Colonel Owens of the 9th Virginia, was shot 
through the groin with a musket ball before the line reached the 
stone wall, and was carried off the field. Company A, the Dis- 
mal Swamp Rangers, under Captain Thomas M. Llodges, was in 
the skirmish line in front of the 3d Virginia, and though two of 
its commissioned officers were wounded, none were killed outright, 

Swinton, who is the fairest of all the Northern historians of 
the war, gives a very graphic account of the charge of Pickett's 
Division at Gettysburg in his "Army of the Potomac, 1 ' though 
he falls into the error of all of the Northern writers in greatly 
exaggerating the strength of the Confederates. lie fixes the 
strength of the attacking force at 15,000, and yet says "its front 
was so narrow that it did not cover more than two of the incom- 
plete divisions of the 2d corps, numbering some 6,000 men. 
This inconsistency should have been apparent to the author. 
Pickett's Division numbered 4,500 men and Lleth's Division 
could not have been much larger, and 15,000 Confederates would 
have over-lapped 6,000 Federals. With this exception, his ac- 
count of the charge is very fair for an opponent. lie says: 

"As Pickett's Division of Longstreet's corps had reached the 
ground during the morning, it was appointed to lead the van. 
Pickett formed his division in double line of battle, with Kemp- 
er's and Garnett's Brigades in front and Armistead's Brigade 
supporting, while on the right of Pickett was one brigade of 
Hill's corps, under General Wilcox, formed in column by battal- 
ions; and on his left, Lleth's Division (also of Hill's corps), 
under General Pettigrew. The attacking force numbered about 
fifteen thousand men, and it advanced over the intervening space 
of near a mile in such compact and imposing order that, whether 
friend or foe, none who saw it could refrain from admiration of 
its magnificent array. The hostile line, as it advanced, covered 
a front of not more than two of the reduced and incomplete divis- 



112 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

ions of the second corps, numbering, it may be, some six thou- 
sand men. While crossing the plain it received a severe fire of 
artillery which, however, did not delay for a moment its deter- 
mined advance, so that the column pressing on came within 
musketry range, the troops evincing a striking disposition to 
withhold their fire until it could be delivered with deadly effect. 
The first opposition it received was from two regiments of Stan- 
nard's Vermont Brigade of the first corps, which had been 
posted in a small grove to the left of the second corps in front of 
and at a considerable angle with the main line. These regiments 
opened upon the right flank of the enemy's advancing lines, 
which received also an oblique fire from eight batteries under 
Major McGilvray. This caused the Confederate troops on that 
flnk to double in a little towards their left, but it did not stay 
their onward progress. As, during the tramp of the enemy 
across the intervening plain, the rifled guns had fired away all 
their canister, they were withdrawn or left on the ground inac- 
tive, to await the issue of the impending shock between the two 
masses of infantry — a shock momentarily expected — for the as- 
sailants approached steadily while the Union force held itself 
braced to receive the impact. When at length the hostile lines 
had approached to between two and three hundred yards, the di-' 
visions of Hays and Gibbon of the second corps opened a 
destructive fire, and repeated it in rapid succession. 

" This sally had the effect to instantly reveal the unequal metal 
of the assaulting mass and proved what of it was iron and what 
clay. * * * Pettigrew's troops broke in disorder, leaving 
two thousand prisoners and fifteen colors in the hands of Hays' 
Division. Now, as Wilcox's Brigade had not advanced, Pickett's 
Division remained alone, a solid lance head of Virginia troops, 
temperd in the fire of battle. Solitary this division, buffeting 
the fierce volleys that met it, rushed up the crest of Cemetery 
Ridge and such was the momentum of its assault that it fairly 
thrust itself within Hancock's line. 

u It happened that the full strength of this attack fell upon 
Webb's Brigade of three regiments. This brigade had been dis- 
posed in two lines ; two of its regiments, the 69th and 71st Penn- 
sylvania, posted behind a low stone wall and slight breastworks 
hastily constructed by them, while the remaining regiment, the 
72d Pennsylvania, lay behind the crest, some sixty paces to the 
rear, and so placed as to fire over the heads of those in front. 
When the swift advancing and yelling array of Pickett's force 
had, notwithstanding the volleys it met, approached close up to 
the stone wall, many of those behind it, seeing their fire to be 
now vain, abandoned the position ; and the Confederates, detect- 
ing this wavering, rushed over the breastworks, General Armis- 
tead leading, and crowmed the stone wall with their standard. 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 113 

The moment was as critical as can well be conceived ; but 
happily the regiments that had been holding this front line did 
not, on falling back, do so in panic ; so that, by the personal 
bravery of General Webb and his officers, they were immediately 
rallied and reformed on the rear of the brigade, which held the 
second line behind the crest, and Hancock instantly drew to- 
gether troops to make a bulwark against any further advance of 
the now exultant enemy. 

" As the hostile front of attack was quite narrow, it left Han- 
cock's left wing imassailed. From there he drew over the 
brigades of Hall and Harrow. * * * The 19th Massachusetts 
Regiment. * * * Mallon's 12d New York Regiment. * * 
While Colonel Stannard moved two regiments of his Yermont 
Brigade to strike the enemy on the right flank. These movements 
were quickly executed. * " x " * The breach was covered, and 
in such force that in regular formation, the line would have stood 
four ranks deep. 

" Whatever valor could do to wrest victory from the jaws of 
hell, that it must be conceded, the troops of Pickett had done, 
but now, seeing themselves in a desperate straight, they flung 
themselves on the ground to escape the hot fire and threw up their 
hands in token of surrender, while the remnant sought safety in 
flight. - * The Confederate loss in killed and wounded was 
severe. Of the three brigade commanders of Pickett's Division, 
Garnett was killed, Armistead fell fatally wounded within the 
Union lines, and Kemper was borne off, severely hurt. In addi- 
tion it left behind fourteen of its field officers, and only a single 
one of that rank escaped unhurt, while of the rank and file, three- 
fourths were dead or captives. " ;: " " But this illustrious victory 
was not purchased without severe price paid, and this was sadly 
attested in the thousands of dead and wounded that lay on the 
plain. The loss of officers was again especially heavy, and among 
the wounded were Generals Gibbon and Hancock." 

After their repulse, Pickett's Division retired to their camp of 
the night before and remained there until the army started on its 
return to Yirginia. General Meade succeeded in resisting Gen- 
eral Lee's efforts to dislodge him from his advantageous position, 
but General Lee's army was not beaten. He remained in front 
of Gettysburg all of the next day to give General Meade an op- 
portunity to attack him, but that officer was content with having 
succeeded in repelling the assault upon himself, and had no idea 
of leaving his fortified position to attack the Confederates. Gen- 
eral Lee, finding that General Meade would not attack him, and 
having nearly exhausted his supply of artillery ammunition, the 
army fell back to the Potomac river at Williamsport, Pickett's 
Division being assigned the duty of guarding the thousands of 
prisoners who were captured in the battle. 



114 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

When tlie army readied Williamsport, the river was swollen so 
high from recent rains that it was not forclable, and the army re- 
mained there from the 8th to the 13th of July, by which time a 
bridge had been constructed, and the army crossed over on it. 
All of this time General Meade kept his army at a respectful 
distance, sending forward occasionally a force of cavalry to try to 
gather up a wagon train or a few stragglers. While in Williams- 
port, the 9th Regiment was doing provost duty, and the boys had 
excellent sleejring accommodations. On the 18th of August the 
brigade, then commanded by Colonel Aylett, of the 53d regiment, 
camped at Gordonsville, and on the 7th of September was ordered 
to Richmond, arriving there at night on the 12th and immediately 
took the cars for Petersburg. That day the brigade marched 
twenty-six miles and traveled twenty-two miles on the cars. 

From that time to the following June, it was hurried from 
place to place to head off raiding parties of the enemy, which 
were making their appearance at different points from Richmond 
to Goldsboro. On the 6th of October the brigade was sent by 
rail to Kinston, 1ST. C, and on the 14th placed in very comfortable 
winter quarters near that town, but on the 1st of November it 
was moved back to Petersburg. On the 7th it was sent back to 
Weldon, and from there to Garysburg, arriving at 8 a. m. on the 
8th. It remained there until the 11th, when it was carried back 
to Petersburg. On the 28th it started to rejoin the army of 
General Lee, then confronting General Meade at Mine Run, 
reached Hanover Junction the next day at 8 a. m. and went into 
camp. On the 10th of December it was again sent by rail to 
North Carolina and on the 13th went again into the camp of Oc- 
tober near Kinston. 

On the 30th of January, 1864, the brigade moved on towards 
Newberne and on the 1st of February formed line of battle and 
had a small engagement with the enemy, driving in the pickets, 
&c, which was merely intended to employ the force there to pre- 
vent it from interfering with the movement of a portion of the 
army which was operating elsewhere. On the afternoon of the 
2d the brigade broke camp for Kinston, and on the 13th took the 
cars for Petersburg, crossed James river on the 15th on a pontoon 
bridge above Drury's Bluff and camped in Henrico county two 
miles to the east of Richmond. In February two raiding parties 
of Federal cavalry started towards Richmond, one from the di- 
rection of Fortress Monroe, under General Wister, which got no 
further than Bottom's bridge, and the other under General Kil- 
patrick and Colonel Dahlgren, from General Meade's army on the 
Rapidan. On the 1st of March the 9th Regiment was marched 
to Bottom's bridge, thence to the Virginia Central railroad to head 
oil* Kilpatrick, who was operating there, but escaped, and at night 
to the Mechanicsville turnpike to try and head off Dahlgren, who 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 115 

liad readied the vicinity of Richmond that afternoon about sun- 
down and had been attacked and defeated by the 3d Battalion of 
Virginia Reserves, under command of Senior Captain John A. 
McAnerny, and attached to the brigade of General Custis Lee. on 
the "YVestham plank road about three miles from the city. In this 
battalion was a company of boys from Richmond, whose ages 
ranged from sixteen to eighteen, under command of Captain Ed- 
ward Gay, and they displayed the courage of old veterans. The 
author saw one of them bringing in a Yankee prisoner, about 
twice his own size, whom he had captured, though himself suffer- 
ing from a wound in the arm. 

Though this affair has no direct connection with the history of 
the 9th Regiment, but as it was of considerable importance in its 
results, though comparatively insignificant in itself, and for this 
reason has been overlooked, or merely touched upon in the histo- 
ries of the war, the author asks the indulgence of the reader in 
giving his recollection of it as it appeared to him. He was at the 
time, temporarily with Company A, commanded by Captain John 
Manico, a gallant fellow from New Orleans, who came to Vir- 
ginia with the Washington Artillery and was wounded at Manas- 
sas, disabled and discharged. 

On the 28th of February General Kilpatrick left General 
Meade's army on the Rapidan with between three and four thou- 
sand cavalrymen, for Richmond, to capture the city and release 
the Federal prisoners who were confined in Libby Prison and on 
Belle Isle. 

At Spotsylvania Court House the force divided, and Colonel 
Dahlgren with five hundred picked men, pushed on towards the 
James river above Richmond, while the main body, under Kil- 
patrick, headed directly for the city, reaching the north side of it 
on the 1st of March. The interposition of Armistead's Brigade, 
of which the Dth Regiment formed a part, stopped his further 
progress in that direction, and he escaped down the peninsula to 
Fortress Monroe. 

Dahlgren pursued his course towards James River, reached it 
near Goochland Court House, and then followed the course of the 
river towards Richmond, reaching the vicinity of the city, on the 
west, the same day, March 1st, that Kilpatrick had arrived, but 
later in the afternoon. A considerable force had by that time 
been collected around the city for its defence. News reached 
Richmond of the approach of Dahlgren's party and the 3d Bat- 
talion, Custis Lee's Brigade, was sent to meet it. The battalion 
left the city about 1 o'clock p. m. and marched rapidly out the 
Westham plank road. The battalion was composed of seven or 
eight companies and had about four hundred men present in its 
ranks. The rain was pouring down in torrents, but the men were 
in the best of spirits, as if they were going to a frolic instead of a 



116 NORFOLK COUNTY, 18G1-5. 

light. First Lieutenant Morris, a brave young North Carolinian, 
2d Sergeant John F. Mayer, of Norfolk, and another, were to- 
gether on the left of Company A. One of the trio remarked, " If 
our sweethearts were here now they might call us their rain 
dears" Sergeant Mayer said " Yes, and though it has scarcely 
been an hour since we left Richmond, we are already ' weterans.- " 
Lieutenant Morris did not want to get left on the play of words, 
and, remembering the day and month, and having his wits fresh- 
ened by stepping into a mud puddle over his shoe tops said he 
thought " This first march this year is the softest thing the battal- 
ion ever got into." TJhis incident is recalled merely to illustrate 
the fine spirits which animated the battalion, from Captain 
McAnerny clown. 

After inarching about three miles the battalion met a cavalry- 
man on his way to the city, with a report, and he informed Cap- 
tain McAnerny that the enemy, in considerable force, had attacked 
our cavalry picket and it had fallen back to a position about a 
quarter of a mile in advance of where we then were. The cap- 
tain halted the battalion, gave orders to close up and load ; after 
which it moved forward again, the men joking as they marched. 
It was then about sundown. 

Reaching the picket, the battalion filed to the right, in a. field, 
and fronted to the advancing enemy, with the left resting on the 
road and the cavalry picket occupying the road. Captain 
McAnerny threw out skirmishes and ordered a charge, telling the 
men to reserve their fire until he gave the order, and then 
to fire together. The enemy were advancing also, some mounted 
and some'on foot, and in less than a minute the sharp cracking 
fire of the skirmishers began. These fell back gradually or rather 
paused for the main line to overtake them, when they took their 
places in the ranks. Captain McAnerny halted the line so that 
the fire of his men could be delivered with more accuracy, and 
when the enemy's line had reached within about twenty yards gave 
the order to fire. That one volley settled the affair. Those of 
the enemy who were not killed or wounded, stood not upon the 
order of their going, but left at once. A second volley added 
speed to their retreat. A mounted section endeavored to turn 
the right of the battalion which was exposed in open field, but 
the rear rank of the right company faced to the rear and gave 
them such a well-directed volley that only one of them escaped. 
The battalion was armed with Austrian rifles, which were perhaps 
the best guns in the Confederate army. Those of Dahlgren's 
men who escaped made their way around to the north of Rich- 
mond, closely followed by the Confederates, and were stopped by 
a party of Home Guards in King and Queen county. An en- 
gagement ensued and Dahlgren was killed and the men with him 
were captured, On his bo'dy was found an order to his men to 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 117 

release the Federal prisoners on Belle Island, kill President Davis 
and other citizens of Richmond, and burn the city. He came 
near liberating the thousands of prisoners on Belle Isle, for he 
had gotten within less than two miles of them and there was 
nothing between him and them but the 3d battalion. Had that 
failed in its duty, the ten or twelve thousand prisoners might 
have been released, though the subsequent arrival of other troops 
would have been in time to have kept him out of the city. 

Captain A. E. Wilson, of Portsmouth, was on duty in King 
and Queen county at the time of this affair and recovered from 
the prisoners about two bushels of silver plate which they had 
stolen from Virginia farm houses while on their raid. 

The 9th Regiment remained in the vicinity of Richmond all 
the month of March. On the 23d there was a terrible storm 
and "the beautiful snow " fell to the depth of eighteen inches, and 
in April the bottom seemed to have dropped out of the Confed- 
erate commissary department. The men in the 9th had nothing 
to eat on the 8th or 9th. The next day, however, brought relief 
and rations. 

On the 3d of May the brigade started to join General Lee's 
army on the Rapidan, and on the 5th had reached Taylorsville, 
on the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, when it 
was recalled in haste to Richmond to meet Butler's advance from 
Bermuda Hundreds, where he had landed with the corps of Gen- 
erals Gilmore and W. F. Smith, numbering some thirty thousand 
men. Arriving in Richmond by rail, the brigade was immedi- 
ately transported by steamer to Drury's Bluff and marched to the 
outer line of defences. On the 8th the brigade was drawn up in 
line of battle, the men about live feet apart and covering a space 
of three miles. 

May 10th Armistead's Brigade and Grade's Alabama Brigade 
formed an attenuated line of battle reaching from the Petersburg 
railroad to the river and advanced against the enemy to develop 
his strength and position. Armistead's Brigade attacked two 
lines of battle of the enemy and pushed them back for nearly a 
mile, when Grade's Brigade having obliqued to the left, a large 
interval was created on the left of Armistead's Brigade, and as it 
was about to be flanked there by the increasing masses of the 
enemy, General Barton, who commanded it, ordered it to retire. 
In this battle the 9th Regiment captured a gun on the turnpike, 
but when the brigade fell back it was left behind, as there were 
no horses to bring it off. This affair served to keep General 
Butler quiet for a few days, and as Sheridan was then in the vi- 
cinity of Richmond on his gigantic raid with three cavalry divis- 
ions, Armistead's Brigade was moved from Drury's Bluff by 
steamer at 1 o'clock on the morning of the 12th to Richmond. 
Sheridan had repulsed Stuart's attack at Yellow Tavern and killed 



118 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

that great cavalry leader on the 11th, and on the 12th reached 
the outer defences of the city. At 9 a. in., on the 12th, Armi- 
stead's Brigade formed line of battle on the Mechanicsville turn- 
pike, and during the day was moved to the Meadow Bridge Road 
and back to the Mechanicsville turnpike and to the York River 
Railroad. Grade's Alabama Brigade made an advance early in 
the afternoon to feel Sheridan's position and retired to wait for 
re-enforcements. These arrived later in the day and an advance 
was made by Grade's, Armistead's and Ilunton's Brigades, but 
Sheridan had moved off. 

While Sheridan was on the Meadow Bridge Road an incident 
occurred which made a deep impression on the memory of the 
author. There was a farm house down the road about a quarter 
of a mile from the Confederate works and Sheridan had placed 
there a battery of field guns which was firing at the Confederate 
works, and a battery in the works across the road was replying. 
While this artillery duel was going on, a tall, elderly gentleman, 
carrying in his arms a two or three-year-old child and accompa- 
nied by two beautiful young ladies, one of whom was leading a 
little six or seven-year-old girl by the hand, came down the side 
of the road along a path inside the bordering fence, walking 
quietly to the Confederate lines. Upon reaching the works the 
men helped them over. They lived in the honse where Sheridan 
had placed his battery, and in coming along the side of the road 
paid no more attention to the shells which were flying past them 
than if they had been snow balls. 

Sheridan effected his retreat in safety to the Pamunky river, 
where he rejoined General Grant, and, in the meantime, Butler 
having been encouraged to make another attempt to reach Rich- 
mond, advanced from Bermuda Hundreds. The brigade was 
moved to Drury's Bluff on the 15th, and the next day took part 
in what is known in history as the Battle of Drury's Bluff. It 
resulted in a victory for the Confederates, and would have been 
more decisive still but for the failure of General Whiting to ad- 
vance with his division to attack the left and rear of the enemy, 
as ordered by General Beauregard. This failure on his part to 
attack, left open the line of retreat for the enemy, of which he 
availed himself and fell back within the fortifications at Bermuda 
Hundreds. In this battle the brigade was commanded by Colonel 
B. D. Fry, of the 13th Alabama Regiment, who was assigned to 
it by General Robert Ransom, under whose orders it was acting. 
General Ransom preferred charges against General Barton for 
some fault he found with him in the action of the 10th and re- 
moved him from his command. A correspondence ensued in 
relation to the matter in which General Barton got the better of 
it, and every officer of the brigade signed a petition to the Sec- 
retary of War asking that he be re-instated. A court of inquiry 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 119 

was ordered, but its delays were so numerous that the war ended 
befor the matter was settled, and in the meantime General George 
H. Stewart was ordered to command it August 27th, 1864. Gen- 
eral Barton had been assigned to the brigade in 1863, after the 
death of General Armistead at Gettysburg. 

Genera] Barton, in his official report of the 10th of May, pays 
a high compliment to the 9th Regiment for their steadiness and 
good conduct on that occasion. On the 16th the battle was begun 
while a heavy fog was on the ground and Barton's Brigade was 
ordered to support Hoke's North Carolina Brigade, but owing to 
the fog Hoke's Brigade obliqued to the right and Barton's obliqued 
to the left, which brought the 0th Regiment under a very heavy 
and destructive fire of the enemy, to which they did not reply, 
thinking Hoke's Brigade was in their front. They were ordered 
to lie down, which they did, until a flanking force from the bri- 
gades turned the enemy's right and captured those in front of the 
9th. The fog lifting at this time disclosed the fact that Hoke's 
Brigade had moved off to the right. The 0th Regiment pressed 
on to Bermuda Hundreds after the retreating Federals, and on 
19th the brigade was ordered to join the main army, then near 
Spotsylvania Court House. It took steamer at Drury's Bluff 
and reached Richmond at midnight, where the whole brigade 
slept on the streets on the pavement. The next day they took the 
cars for Milford Station, where they debarked, pushed on, and 
camped within five miles of Spotsylvania Court House. 

On the night of the 20th Grant moved off from Spotsylvania 
Court House, and Armistead's Brigade, now Stewart's, and again 
united with Pickett's Division, was marched towards Hanover 
Junction. The whole of the division had gotten together again. 
On the 21th the brigade was in line of battle on the North Anna 
river, and fronted the enemy in his unsuccessful effort to force a 
passage there, and remained in position until the 27th, when the 
army moved off to Cold Harbor, in consequence of another move- 
ment of General Grant to the left. On the 30th it was again 
drawn up in line of battle and had a heavy engagement on the 
picket line, and on the 1st, 2d, 3d, 1th and 5th of June, was in 
line of battle at Cold Harbor waiting for an attack from the ene- 
my which never came. He made" "heavy assaults on 1st and 3d, 
upon other portions of the line and was repulsed easily, losing 
about thirteen thousand men in less than fifteen minutes. 

On the 6th, Company G, 9th Regiment, was sent forward to 
try to establish a new picket line, but finding the ground occupied 
by a superior force of the enemy, fell back to the old line, and on 
the 16th the division crossed over James river on pontoons at 
Drury's Bluff, and at 3 p. m., while on the Richmond and Peters- 
burg turnpike near Chester Station, the head of the column, 
Stewart's .Brigade, was fired upon by the enemy, who proved to 



120 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

be Butler's forces, who had again started out from Bermuda 
Hundreds. Line of battle was formed immediately and the enemy 
were attacked and driven from a line of earthworks, the division 
spending the night in the captured works. On the 17th the at- 
tack was renewed and Butler was again driven back behind his 
entrenchments at Bermuda Hundreds, from which lie did not 
again emerge during the war. Pickett's Division remained on 
the lines in front of Bermuda Hundreds until March 26th, 1865, 
when it was moved off to the extreme right of the army to check 
the advance of Sheridan's Cavalry. Three brigades of the divi- 
sion, Stewart's, Terry's and Corse's (Hunton's was somewhere else) 
struck Sheridan's command at Dinwiddie Court House and drove 
it before them. This was the 31st of March, and the next 
morning while they were fighting Sheridan in front, Warren's and 
Humphrey's corps of Federal infantry, attacked them in flank and 
rear. The 9th Regiment was marched to the left and thrown in 
reverse to try to stop the flood and bore the brunt of Warren's 
charge. It stood its ground, however, until it was overwhelmed. 
The enemy came on faster than the men could load and fire, and 
most of the 9th Regiment being killed, wounded or surrounded, 
fell into the hands of the enemy. The colors of the 9th Regi- 
ment were bourne in this battle by George W. Barnes, of the 
Old Dominion Guard, Company K, and the regiment was in the 
form of a letter L, with one side fronting out from the left of the 
Confederate line of battle and the other fronting to the rear. 
Very few of the men escaped from Five Forks, and those who 
did, w T ere caught in a similar trap at Saylor's Creek on the 6th. 

While the 9th Regiment, which was taken from the centre of 
the brigade in line of battle, was hurrying to the left to try to 
stay the progress of Warren's and Humphrey's Corps, it passed 
the 56th North Carolina Regiment, of Ransom's Brigade, com- 
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel G. G. Luke, an old Portsmouth 
boy, and the Portsmouth companies in the 9th recognizing him, 
gave him a cheer, and George Barnes, the color-bearer, knowing 
as every other man in the line did, that the regiment was being 
sent as a sacrifice to give time to the others to escape, sang out : 
" Here goes old Portsmouth, Colonel — good-bye ! " 

Swinton, in his Army of the"' Potomac, speaking of this effort 
to stop the movement of Warren's Corps upon Pickett's left and 
rear, says : 

"Held as in a vice by the cavalry, which controlled their whole 
front and right, they now found a line of battle sweeping down 
on their rear. Thus placed, they did all that men may. Form- 
ing front both north and south, they met, with desperate valor, 
this double onset. * * * * Yet, vital in all of its parts, 
what remained still continued the combat with unyielding metal. 
Parrying the thrusts of the cavalry from the front, this poor 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 121 

scratch of a force threw back its left in a new and short crotchet, 
so as to meet the advance of Warren." 

Pickett's force of six thousand contended with twelve thousand 
cavalrymen under Sheridan and twenty-two thousand infantry in 
the two corps of Warren and Humphreys. 

Nearly all of the men in the 9th who escaped at Five Forks 
were killed or captured at Saylor's Creek, and very few were left 
to surrender at Appomattox, except those who were with the 
wagons, or in the commissary or hospital departments, these being 
necessarily in the rear and not usually participating in the battles, 
escaped in the general destruction. The regiment was engaged 
in the following battles, besides numerous skirmishes and picket 
fights : 

Seven Fines, June 1st, 1802, Suffolk, April, 1S63, 
Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862, Gettysburg, July 3d, 1863, 
Warrenton Springs, Aug. 28th, Newberne, Feb. 1th, 1861, 

1862, Drury's Bluff, May 10th, 1861, 

Second Manassas, Aug. 30th, Drury's Bluff, May 16th, 1861, 
1862, Chester Station, June 16th, '61, 

Harper's Ferry, Sept. 11th, Dinwiddie Court House, March 

1862, 31st, 1865, 

Sharpsburg, Sept. 17th, 1862, Five Forks, April 1st, 1865, 
Fredericksburg, Dec. 13th, '62, Saylor's Creek, April 6th, 1865. 
It was engaged also in the numerous skirmishes, which might 
almost be termed battles, at Hanover Court House, Cold Harbor 
and Turkey Ridge, from May 28th to June 13th, 1861, while 
General Lee was holding General Grant at bay, and had a num- 
ber of minor engagements with the enemy while on the line at 
Bermuda Hundreds. An amusing incident occurred while at this 
latter place. By a mutual understanding between the men on 
both sides, there had been an intermission of picket firing for 
several weeks, when, one day, a Federal soldier called out from his 
side, " Johnnie, look out to-morrow, there will be negro troops on 
picket." The answer went back, " All right, we'll fix them." 
The next day, sure enough, the negroes were observed holding the 
advanced line, and' with a yell, they were charged by the Confed- 
erates. They scattered and ran as if an avenging angel was after 
them. Later, white troops were sent to the front, and the friendly 
feeling between the opposing pickets, was restored. That was the 
last attempt to put negro pickets on that line. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Phillips recovered from his wound received at 
Gettysburg, was promoted to Colonel, and commanded the regi- 
ment until the closing scenes on the retreat from Petersburg. 
Major Richardson, who was captured at Gettysburg, was not ex- 
changed. He was paroled just before the close of the war, but 
not having been exchanged, was not with the regiment in its 
closing struggles. 



122 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

MALVERN HILL. 

The following is the official report of Lieutenant-Colonel 
James Gilliam, who commanded the Oth Regiment at the battle 
of Malvern Hill. It will be remembered that only seven compa- 
nies of the regiment were present in that affair. Companies A, 
D and II had been detached and placed in batteries in the forti- 
fications around Richmond : 

Frazier's Farm, Near Richmond, Ya., 

July 2d, 1862. 

Sir — I beg leave to submit the following report of the action 
of the Oth Virginia Regiment during the battle of July 1st: 

On the morning of July 1st we left the Charles City road in 
pursuit of the enemy and arrived about 10 a. in. at this farm. 
We were first left to guard the road to prevent a flank movement 
of the enemy, and for two hours were exposed to a most appall- 
ing and incessant artillery lire, and, notwithstanding the terror 
of its rage, my officers and men behaved with great coolness 
and gallantry. 

About 5 o'clock we were ordered to change our position and 
take post in rear of and to support an artillery battery, and, in 
about thirty minutes afterwards, were ordered to charge the ene- 
my's battery, supporting Cobb's Brigade, and it is but just to say 
that no regiment ever charged with more impetuosity. On they 
went with utmost speed, amid the deadly fire of musketry and 
artillery. Having a force in our front interfering with our lire 
we, by an oblique to the right, came within good musket range of 
the opposing lines of the enemy and poured in upon them volley 
after volley until night closed the scene. 

Where all behaved so well, the mention of individual acts 
might seem to be invidious, but justice demands that I should 
call your attention to the acts of Captain J. T. Kilby, Company 
I, who, amid the fire of the enemy, seized a flag of some regi- 
ment that had been broken and tried to rally its scattered rem 
nants and bring them against the foe, and while thus acting the- 
flag staff was shot from his hand. Of Captain James J. Phillips, 
who, after our color bearer was shot down and its guard scattered, 
preserved the colors of his regiment and saved it from the dishonor 
of leaving its colors on the field and restored them, still to wave 
in their proper place. Of Lieutenant James F. Crocker, Adju- 
tant of the Oth Regiment, who received several severe if not 
mortal wounds in bravely leading the regiment in front of its 
colors, encouraging the men by his bold and gallant bravery. 
And I might, indeed, mention every officer in the field as having 
done their duty nobly, not only in this fight, but in all the hard 
duty that we have had to undergo in the last thirty days. 

In closing my report, it is with feelings of the deepest regret 
that we have to number among our fallen brave the names of 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 123 

Captain Dennis Vermillion, Company K, and Second Lieutenant 
C. M. Dozier of Company I. These brave and gallant officers fell 
bravely fighting for their homes and firesides, martyrs to vandal 
tyranny; but a grateful country will cherish their sacrifice and 
preserve their memory. 

Below you will please find a duplicate report of the casualties 
in my regiment, which you will discover to be quite large, since 
it carried not exceeding one hundred and fifty effective fighting 
men on the field. 

Killed — Two officers and 7 enlisted men, wounded 1 officer and 
33 enlisted men, missing 23 enlisted men. Recapitulation — Killed 
9,. wounded 34, missing 23 ; total, 66. 

Believing that my regiment did its duty faithfully, I cherish 
the hope that we shall meet your kind approval. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

J as. S. Gilliam, 
Lieutenant Colonel Commanding 9th Va. Regiment. 

Brigadier General Armistead, 

Commanding Fourth Brigade. 

During the night McClellan abandoned Malvern Hill and re 
treated to Harrison's Landing. General Wright, in his official 
report of the battle, says his brigade was ordered by General 
Armistead to follow his (Armistead' s) brigade in a charge upon 
the enemy's works at Malvern Hill, and he went because General 
Armistead ordered him to do so, though he felt it was an im- 
proper move to charge one hundred guns and twenty-five thousand 
men with two brigades not exceeding in numbers twenty-five 
hundred men. General Magruder's management of affairs after 
his arrival upon the field does not seem to have been more judi- 
cious than that which preceeded. Charges were made by single 
brigades and sometimes by separate regiments. The Confederate 
artillery was badly managed. Instead of massing there seventy- 
five or eighty guns, Grimes' battery was sent in first and disa- 
bled, then Moorman's was put in with a like result, and then 
Pegram's. The official reports of the Brigadier Generals make 
no mention of General Huger being on the field, and that officer 
disclaimed any responsibility for the way the battle was fought. 
In his official report he said : 

" As the different brigades of my division were sent forward 
into the battle of Malvern Hill, and I was directed to report them 
to another commander, though myself present, I was not in com- 
mand during this battle. As I was treated in the same manner 
at Seven Pines, I can only hope this course was accidental and 
required by the necessities of the service." 

The report of Brigadier Robert Ransom, who was attached 
to LIuger's Division for that occasion, throws some light upon the 
condition of affairs which left that division without a head on the 



124 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

field and led to the disaster at Malvern Hill. General Ransom 
says : 

"In this position we remained exposed to the bursting of an 
occasional shell until about 5 p. in., when a message reached me 
from General Magrader asking that I would go to his support. 
The summons was not obeyed, but I sent word to General linger 
to get instructions. His reply sustained my action. In about 
half an hour another order from General Magruder arrived. 
General Huger was present, and under his dictation I informed 
General Magruder that orders to me must come through General 
Huger. The engagement was now very warm and extended along 
our whole front. At 7 p. m. I received word from General Ma- 
gruder that he must have aid, if only one regiment. The mes- 
sage was so pressing that I at once directed Colonel Clarke 
to go with his regiment and report to General Magruder, 
and, at the same time sent my aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Broad- 
nax, to General Huger for orders. Lieutenant Broadnax brought 
me somewhat discretionary orders, to go or not, but not to place 
myself under General Magruder." 

Major-General D. II. Hill in his official report of the battle 
says : 

" The battle of Malvern Hill might have been a complete and 
glorious success had not our artillery and infantry been fought in 
detail. " :: " * * Notwithstanding the tremendous odds against 
us and the blundering management of the battle, we inflicted 
heavy loss upon the Yankees." 

General Longstreet blames General Magruder for it. He says : 

"It was soon ascertained that the enemy was in position and 
great force at Malvern Hill. A little after 3 p. m. I understood 
that we would not be able to attack the enemy that day, inasmuch 
as his position was too strong to admit of it. About 5 o'clock, 
however, I heard the noise of battle, and soon received a message 
from General Magruder calling for reinforcements." 

The Confederates lost in this blundering affair, 685 killed, 3,441 
wounded, and 498 missing ; total, 4,627. 

Captain John T. Kilby, of Company I, 9th Virginia Regiment, 
has furnished the author with the following personal recollection 
of this unfortunate affair. He says : 

" When we were lying down under the hill, in the ravine, be- 
fore going into that fatal charge, General Armistead ordered me 
to send two videttes to the brow of the hill to watch the pro- 
gress of the battle. The position was an exposed one, and I se- 
lected for the duty Joseph Prentis, a distant relative, and Mills 
Riddick, my nephew. In a feAv minutes Mills Riddick re- 
ported to me that he thought the enemy was about to advance, 
and form a new line, which I reported to General Armistead, who 
rejjorted to General Magruder, who was very near me when he 



THE NINTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 



125 



heard the report, and ordered our regiment to charge across the 
field. 1 was within a few feet of him and. heard every word he 
said. .He was in a towering passion and used very profane lan- 
guage. His actions and his language on that occasion left a very 
decided impression on my mind that General Magruder was quite 
under the influence of liquor. General Armistead protested 
against his men being sent into the charge, saying it was down- 
right murder to have men ordered cut up as our regiment must 
necessarily be. From the time we entered that ravine, about 3 
p. m., until the charge, I was with General Armistead and heard 
his protest to General Magruder in reference to that charge across 
the field." 

Only Forty members of the 9th Regiment remained to surren- 
der at Appomattox Court House. These were : 

Captain J. P. Wilson, Jr., Company A, commanding regiment. 

Surgeon A. R. Barry. 

Quarter Master Sergeant W. R. Butler. 

COMPANY G. 

" John E. Sale, 



COMPANY A. 

Sergeant Reuben Ruffin, 
" Jas. C. Brister, 

Private Marcus A. Clarke, 
" Marion W. Stern. 



COMPANY P.. 

Private James W. Moore. 

company c. 
Sergeant Ralph H. Stewart, 

" John T. Morrisett, 
Private L. M. Lundie, 

" S. M. Wilkerson. 

COMPANY D. 

Private Rufus K. McCoy, 
" Win. II. Jollett" 
" G. W. Martin. 

COMPANY F. 

Private James Graham, 
" James Ritchie. 



" D. White, 

" W. J. Oliver, 

" A. Savage, 

" M. P. Whitehurst. 

COMPANY H. 

Corporal E. Aiken, 

" H. Chambers. 
Private H. Clements, 

" H. Spiers, 

" Richard A. Hargrave. 

" T. B. Wills. 

COMPANY I. 

Private Jas. E. Barnes, 
" Blanch Duncan, 
" Wash. L. Gwvnn, 
" Wm. J Skeet'er. 

COMPANY K. 

Private E. E. Bilisoly, 
" W. B. Collins, 
" T. R. Borland, 
" Jas. M. Williams, 
" Ed. Watkins. 

above list, though there 



company g. " 

Sergeant J. W. Fienclley, " 

Private Chas. D. Brownley, " 

" Albert B. Owens, 
The original roll is followed in the 
may be some errors in the initials. The names in this list which 
are* not on the rolls of the separate companies were conscipts, or 
men who joined after the evacuation of Portsmouth. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

VIRGINIA DEFENDERS, COMPANY C, SIXTEENTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company" was organized in Portsmouth on the night of the 
20th of April, 1861, immediately upon the receipt of Governor 
Letcher's proclamation calling for volunteers. In anticipation of 
trouble a paper had been in circulation for several days prior to 
that time seeking signatures for the organization of the company, 
and it culminated that night. The following officers were elected : 

Captain — Edward T. Blamire. 

First Lieutenant, A. T. Culpepper ; 2d Lieutenant, John JL 
Gayle; 3d Lieutenant, Thomas Barraud. 

First Sergeant, Joseph Sanner; 2d Sergeant, A. S. Watts; 3d 
Sergeant, J. Thompson Baird ; 4th Sergeant, William W. Davis. 

The company was mustered into service at once, assigned to the 
16th Virginia Regiment as Company C and ordered with the reg- 
iment on duty in the entrenched camp back of Norfolk, leading 
there rather a quiet life, varied only by an occasional alarm, upon 
a report that the enemy were endeavoring to effect a landing at 
Seawell's Point or Willoughby's Spit. 

In April, 1862, one year after the original muster of the com- 
pany into service, those of the men who were in camp and had 
not been detached on other duties, re-enlisted for the war and 
elected officers. Camp life had produced some dissatisfaction, 
and all of the old officers were not re-elected. Fourth Sergeant 
Joseph Sanner had in the meantime been transferred to a Mary- 
land company, and w r as not with Company C. The following 
was the result of the new election. Sergeant A. S. Watts was 
also out of the company, having been elected Sheriff of Ports- 
mouth : 

Captain — Thomas Barraud. 

First Lieutenant, John II. Gayle ; 2d Lieutenant, A. T. Cul- 
pepper ; 3d Lieutenant, J. Thompson Baird. 

First Sergeant, James H. Toomer ; 2d Sergeant, William Bay- 
ton ; 3d Sergeant, James II. Richardson ; 4th Sergeant, Leonard 
J. King. 

Upon the evacuation of Portsmouth and Norfolk May 10th, 
1862, by the Confederates, Company C moved off with the regi- 
ment to Petersburg and then to Richmond. While in front of 
Richmond just before the battle of Seven Pines, the regiment was 
ordered to the Shenandoah Valley to reinforce General Jackson, 
but before reaching there the orders were countermanded and it 
w^as ordered back to Richmond. Returning by rail by way of 
Lynchburg, it reached the vicinity of Richmond June 3d, 1862, 

126 



VIRGINIA DEFENDERS, CO. G, SIXTEENTH VA. REGT. 127 

two days after the battle of Seven Pines. It was then attached 
to Mahone's Brigade and participated in all the battles in which 
the brigade was engaged. 

Captain Thomas Barraud was killed in the battle of Bristoe 
Station October 14th, 1863, and Lieutenant John H. Gayle was 
promoted to Captain. Lieutenant A. T. Culpepper resigned in 
the winter of 1862-3 on account of ill health. Lieutenant J. 
Thompson Baird was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and lost a leg 
at Davis' Farm, near Petersburg, August 19th, 1864, and was 
incapacitated for further service and retired. Sergeant Leonard 
J. King was elected 2d Lieutenant to fill the vacancy caused by 
the resignation of Lieutenant Culpepper and the promotion of 
Lieutenant Baird, and was severely wounded at the battle of the 
22d of June, 1864, at Wilcox's Farm. First Sergeant, James II. 
Toomer was appointed Captain in the Corps of Engineers in 
1863, and Second Sergeant William Bayton was promoted to 
1st Sergeant and held the position until the close of the w r ar 
and surrendered at Appomattox. 

Three of the privates of the company were promoted to the 
position of Adjutants of regiments. These were : 

John S. Jenkins, Adjutant 14th Virginia, killed in the charge 
of Pickett's Division at Gettysburg. 

Edward B. Ward, appointed Sergeant Major of the 16th Vir- 
ginia, promoted to Adjutant, and escaped without a wound. 

Levin Gayle, appointed- Adjutant of the 12th Alabama Regi- 
ment of Bodes' Brigade, and wounded May 12th, 1864, at Spot- 
sylvania Court House. 

At the second battle of Manassas Martin McCoy of Company 
G led the charge of the regiment and was from ten to twenty feet 
in advance of it. 

It is not necessary to say anything further to establish the rep- 
utation of a company for gallantry and good conduct during the 
war than to say it was in Mahone's Brigade, for no brigade in the 
army, not even the famous organization which Stonewall Jackson 
inspired with his own indomitable determination ranked higher 
in the Confederate Army, and among the many conflicts in which it 
took a prominent part none ranked higher or deserved more 
credit than the battle at Crampton Gap, Maryland, September 
14th, 1862, in wdiich four regiments of this brigade, the 6th, 12th, 
16th and 41st Virginia (the 61st Virginia had not then joined the 
brigade), with about eight hundred men, rank and file, held in 
check Franklin's Corps of 20,000 men and prevented them get- 
ting up in time to relieve the garrison at Harper's Ferry. The 
Virginia Defenders, Company C, 10th Virginia Regiment, took 
an active part in that battle. The following account of this battle 
was prepared for the author by Captain James H. Toomer, of 
Portsmouth, who was, at the time, 1st Sergeant of the company. 
It contains his recollections of the affair as a participant therein 



128 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

"THE 'VIRGINIA DEFENDERS' AT THE BATTLE OF CRAMPTON GAP 

RECOLLECTIONS OF A PARTICIPANT. 

" On Saturday afternoon, September 13th, 1862, the company 
was ordered on picket duty and took position on a spur of South 
Mountain, keeping watch all Saturday night and Sunday morn- 
ing. About midday we received orders to leave, and after 
marching some miles were placed in position to defend Crampton 
Gap, Mahone's Brigade occupying a path at the foot of the 
mountain, running at right angles to the road from Burkettsville 
over the mountain. Our company fortunately was placed behind 
a low stone wall, the two Suffolk companies on our right and on 
the other side of the main road, and the other companies of the 
regiment on our left. The battle commenced by the enemy 
placing two Parrott guns on a little eminence just this side of 
Burkettsville, in order to feel our strength and position. Pretty 
soon they advanced their skirmishers and followed this up by a 
heavy attack of their infantry. Several attempts were made to 
reach our lines, but we succeeded each time in repulsing them, 
until, massing their forces, we were " overwhelmed by superior 
numbers''' and forced to retreat. It was a trying time for the 
Confederates engaged in that struggle. Our force was only about 
eight hundred men, while it was said the enemy had twenty 
thousand, and from our position we could see the immense dis- 
parity of numbers against us. One of the prettiest sights I ever 
saw was the charge of one of their regiments against the lines 
just on our left. It was a large regiment, with very full ranks, 
and was supposed by us to be the "Pennsylvania Bucktails." 
They came over the held grandly, the officers all in place and 
cheering the men onward, the men well aligned on the colors, 
with the Stars and Stripes floating proudly above them and borne 
aloft by a stalwart sergeant, who bore himself every inch a sol- 
dier. Half way across the field the fire upon them was so deadly 
they halted and threw themselves upon the ground to avoid, as 
much as possible, the destructive rain of Minie balls poured into 
their ranks. But reinforcements coming up behind them, they 
were pushed forward and finally carried the left of the line. 
Meanwhile, on our side, we had successfully beaten back every 
effort against us. In our front was an open field and distant 
about eighty or one hundred yards was a fence running parallel 
with the wall behind which we were placed. The enemy ranged 
themselves behind this fence and across the field each side hurled 
its deadly missiles at the other. Twice the enemy left the fence 
and essayed a charge, but each time were driven back before they 
had gained half the distance between us, leaving the ground blue 
with" their dead and wounded. After three hours hard fighting 
we were flanked on both our right and left and the order was 
given for the regiment to fall back. Three of us in our company 



VIRGINIA DEFENDERS, CO. C, SIXTEENTH VAl REGT. 129 

were cut off from the road and had to make our retreat up the 
steep side of the mountain, the whole field by this time filled 
with the charging enemy, roaring like bulls of Bashan and howl- 
ing like devils let loose from the infernal regions. Pulling our- 
selves up by laying hold of branches of trees and climbing from 
ledge to ledge, with the music of Minie balls continually in our 
ears, we succeeded in getting safely over the mountain. 

" When the brigade reformed in Pleasant Valley only four in 
our company and seventeen in the regiment answered to their 
names. Nearly the whole regiment was captured, but we had 
succeeded in holding the Gap against Franklin's Corps till it was 
too late for him to march through to the relief of Harper's Ferry, 
and the next morning the place w T as surrendered to our forces. 

"We afterwards had the satisfaction of hearing from good 
authority that the Secretary of War had pronounced our defence 
of Crampton Gap to be one of the most gallant performances of 
the war. Certainly it was a glorious exploit for eight hundred 
men to hold at bay twenty thousand for three hours, and but for 
the rapid succession of important events occurring just at this 
time this achievement of Mahone's Brigade would occupy a larger 
space in men's memories than it .has done heretofore." 

A section of Grimes' Battery was engaged in this battle and 
was withdrawn by order of Colonel Munford after firing all of its 
ammunition. Colonel Parham was in command of Mahone's 
Brigade, General Mahone having been wounded in a previous 
battle. Colonel Munford in his report says: "Colonel Parham 
did everything in his power to hold his position, and his little 
command fought splendidly." 

When the army was falling back into Virginia after the battle 
of Sharpsburg, rations became scarce and the men were given ten 
ears of corn for a clay's feed. One day one of the men in the 
Virginia Defenders was noticed by the other men coming from 
the direction of General Mahone's headquarters with his ten ears 
of corn upon his arm, and upon being cpiestioned said he had 
been to the General to complain of the shortness of his rations. 
He said General Mahone told him it was the best that could be 
done, that he had nothing else for himself, and that he had in- 
formed the General that he did not object to the ten ears of corn, 
that was all right as far as it went, but that five bundles of fod- 
der should accompany it as " a feed." Fie did not repeat General 
Mahone's reply. 

The company took part in the following battles, besides nu- 
merous other engagements, some of which were of enough im- 
portance to be termed ' battles : 
Charles City Road, June 30th, Second Manassas, August 30th, 

1862, 1862, 

Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862, Crampton Gap, Sept. 30th, '62, 



130 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Sharpsburg, Sept. 17th, 1862, Turkey Kidge, June 4th to 13, '64. 
Fredericksburg, Dec. 13th, '62, Frazier's Farm, June 13th, '64, 
Chancellorsville, May 1st, 2d Wilcox Farm, June 22d, 1864, 

and 3d, 1863, Gurley House, June 23d, 1864, 

Salem Church, May 3d, 1863, Crater, July 30th, 1864, 
Gettysburg, July 2d & 3d, '63, Davis Farm, Aug. 19th, 1864, 
Bristoe Station, Oct. 14th, '63, Eeams' Station, Aug. 25th, '64, 
Mine Kun, Dec. 2d, 1863, Burgess Mill, Aug. 29th, 1864, 

Wildnerness, May 6th, 1864, Hatcher's Run, Feb. 6th, 1865, 
Spotsylvania C. H., May 12th, Amelia C. H., April 5th, '65, 
Hanover C. H., May 28-9th, '64,Cumberland Church. April 7, '65. 
Cold Harbor, June 2d & 3d, '64, Appomattox, April 9th, 1865, 

The following is a list of the names on the muster roll of the 
company in August, 1861, with the grades they attained : 

Captain E. T. Blamire, thrown out at reorganization, 1862. 

Captain Thomas Barraud, killed October 14,1863, Bristoe Station. 

Captain John H. Gayle, promoted Captain, captured at Crampton Gap 
September 14th, 1862, exchanged and surrendered at Appomattox. 

Lieutenant A. T. Culpepper, resigned winter 1862-3, ill health. 

Lieutenant J. Thompson Baird, lost leg August 19th, 1862, Davis' Farm, 
and retired. 

Lieutenant Leonard J. King, severely wounded June 22d, 1864, Wilcox's 
Farm. 

First Sergeant Joseph Sanner, transferred to Maryland line 1862. 

First Sergeant James H. Toomer, promoted Captain of Engineers. 

First Sergeant William H. Bayton, wounded, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Sergeant A. S. Watts, elected Sheriff of Portsmouth November, 1861, and 
discharged. 

Sergeant W. W. Davis, died from wounds received July 1st, 1862, Malvern 
Hill. 

Sergeant James PL Richardson. 

Sergeant Charles A. Etheredge, transferred to Commissary Department, re- 
joined the company in July, 1864, surrendered at Appomattox. 

PRIVATES. 

Anderson, John W.. drummer, discharged August, 1862, under age. 

Bain, R. T. K., Corporal, furnished substitute June, 1862. 

Brittiugha.m, James E., wounded. 

Brownley, Joseph F. 

Brown, Eugene EL, Corporal, appointed Engineer in Navy, wounded at Fort 
Fisher. 

Butt, Wilson A., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 

Buff, August, appointed hospital steward 1861. 

Collins, William W., wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

Cherry, I. Jerome, promoted Assistant Surgeon C. S. Army. 

Cooper, John G., wounded July 3d, 1863, "Gettysburg, surrendered at Ap- 
pomattox. 

Cooper, Clarence, wounded near Petersburg. 

Cutherell, Samuel, furnished substitute 1861. 

Danu, Silas S., promoted Sergeant, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Darden, Edward. 

Deal, William, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm, surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Diggs, William W., wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm, surrendered 
at Appomattox. 

Emmerson, William, 



VIRGINIA DEFENDERS, CO. C, SIXTEENTH YA. REGT. 131 

Gayle, Levin J , promoted Adjutant 1 2th Alabama Regiment, wounded at 
Spotsylvania Court House May 12th, 1864. 

Gayle, John M., killed October 29th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Grant, Robert S., detailed 1862, for service in Navy Yard. 

Grant, Edward. 

Godwin, Charles W., detailed 1861. 

Godwin, William, severely wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

Godwin, Ellison, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Gornto, William, severely wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

Hennicke, Albert V., appointed hospital steward Howard Grove. 

Haynes. James K., wounded August 30th, 1862, Secoud Manassas, died in 
hospital. 

Herbert, John L., wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, discharged and 
enlisted in Kngineer Corps. 

Hunter, Samuel W., severely wounded and detailed on hospital duty, re- 
joined company and surrendered at Appomattox. 

Hubbard, Alouzo S., detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

Ivy, I. O., transferred to 13th Virginia Cavalry. 

James, George W., captured on retreat from Petersburg. 

Jarvis, J. M.. discharged 1861, disability. 

Jack, John, derailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

Jenkins, John S., promoted Adjutant 14th Virginia, killed July 3d, 1863, 
Gettysburg. 

Lash, John Vv\, detached with sharpshooters of regiment. 

Langhorne, James K., appointed Engineer in Navy. 

Latimer, Charles W., transferred to Navy. 

Linn, John, Corporal, discharged 1862, over age. 

Lynch, Stephen, killed accidentally 1862. 

Manning, James, discharged 1862, disability. 

Mercer, James. 

McCoy,- Francis, discharged 1862, over age. 

McCoy, Martin V. B., died in hospital 1863, II. S. Ford. 

McPherson, Noah. 

Moreland, Robert, captured and not exchanged. 

Moreland, W. IL, discharged August, 1862, over age. 

Munden, Nathan, wounded July 30th, 1862, crater. 

Peters, Jas. H., transferred to naval stores department. 

Proctor, Jas. G, wounded and disabled July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Poulson, George, discharged for disability and appointed hospital steward. 

Spady, Thos. V., detailed as courier and surrendered at Appomattox. 

Sniaw, Daniel G., captured at Crampton Gap September 14th, 1862. 

Shelton, Wm. Naylor, Corporal, detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

Sibley, Robert E.' 

Scott, Albert A., detailed as hospital steward. 

Tart, John Quincy, discharged 1862, disability. 

Toinliuson, Ed R., drummer, discharged August, 1862, under age. 

Ward, Edward B., promoted Adjutant 16th Regiment. 

Watters, Jas. P., 

Wellener, Joseph, detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

Whitehurst, N. E., lost arm May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 

Whitehurst, John W. 

AVills, John S., killed 1864, near Petersburg. 

Wills, Joseph P., died in 1863 at U. S. Ford in hospital. 

White, N. E., discharged 1862, over age, enlisted in the Norfolk Light Ar- 
tillery Blues. 

Wilson, Win. S., discharged 1861, over age. 

Wilkins, Jas. E. 

Williams, W. W.. killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Williams, Walter. 

Williams, Joseph. 

Killed and died— 10. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE ST. BRIDE'S LIGHT ARTILLERY, COMPANY I, THIRTY-EIGHTH 
VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was raised in St. Bride's parish of Norfolk 
comity, and contained among its membership quite a number of 
men from Norfolk city. As its name will indicate, it was origi- 
nally intended for a light artillery company, but was never fur- 
nished with a field battery, and, having served for some time as 
heavy artillerists, the company was, finally, towards the close of 
the war, put into the 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment. It was 
mustered into the Confederate service by Major Bradford, mus- 
tering officer for Huger's Division, on the 26th of June, 1861. 
On that day officers were elected as follows : 

Captain — George A. Martin. 

First Lieutenant, Wm. M. Chaplain ; 2d Lieutenant, John J. 
Whitelmrst; 3d Lieutenant, Benj. F. llalstead. 

First Sergeant — Alfred B. Williams. 

The company left this vicinity early in 1862 and was ordered 
to take charge of a battery on the Nansemond river, remaining 
there until May 10th, when the troops from here were moved to 
Richmond for the defense of that city. The guns, which were 
in the battery, were removed and carried to Richmond, and it 
seems probable that they were carried to Drury's Bluff, though 
the evidence on this point is not conclusive. At any rate Cap- 
tain Martin says they were saved to the Confederacy. Upon 
reaching Richmond, the company being without a field battery, 
was given some old muskets and attached temporarily to the 14th 
Virginia Regiment of Armistead's Brigade, and took part with 
that regiment in the battle of Seven Pines, June 1st, 1862, after 
which it was detached from the 14th Regiment and ordered- to 
the fortifications around Richmond and attached to the 20th Bat- 
talion Heavy Artillery, commanded by Major Robertson. 

Lieutenant Whitelmrst was discharged for disability, though 
the exact date of his discharge is somewhat uncertain, but on the 
25th of April, 1864, when the company was relieved from duty 
in the fortifications of Richmond and attached to the 38th Vir- 
ginia Regiment of Company I, 3d Lieutenant Benj. F. Halstead 
had been promoted to 2d Lieutenant, and 1st Sergeant A. B. 
Williams had been promoted to 3d Lieutenant. The company 
participated in the two battles of May 10th and 16th, 1S64, near 
Drury's Bluff, and in the battle of Chester Station on the 16th of 
June, following, between Pickett's Division and the forces of 

132 



ST. BRIDE'S LT. ARTWRY,CO. I, THIRTY-EIGHTH VA.REGT. 133 

General Butler, who* had made an advance from Bermuda Hun- 
dreds towards the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Butler 
was driven back into his entrenchments and remained there until 
the close of the war. The company participated in the battles of 
Dinwiddie Court House, March 31st, 1865, and Five Forks, 
April 1st. 

On the 28th of March, 1865, Captain Martin was promoted 
to Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment, his commission to date 
from December 2d, 1861. Lieutenant Chaplain was wounded 
and disabled at the battle of Drury's Bluff, May 16th, 1864, and 
was retired on the 11th of December. Lieutenant Williams was 
discharged for disability in 1861, and upon the retirement of 
Lieutenant Chaplain, 2d Lieutenant B. F. Halstead was promoted 
to 1st Sergeant, Thos. A. McClanen was elected 2d Lieutenant, 
and Josiah W. Leath, 1st Sergeant. In comparison with the 
other companies which went from Norfolk county to the Confed- 
erate army its list of casualties was small. No record or other 
information is obtainable of the losses, if any, at Five Forks. 

Below will be found a list of the members of the company 
who left with it at the evacuation of Norfolk county by the Con- 
federates on the 10th of May, 1862, and were accounted for on 
the roll for December, 1861. In 1863 the company was strength- 
ened by the remaining men in a disbanded company from Lynch- 
burg, one of whom was killed, two wounded and three died in 
hospital. 

Captain Geo. A. Martin, promoted Lieutenant Colonel 38th 
Virginia Regiment March 28th, 1865. 

First Lieutenant Wm. M. Chaplain, wounded May 16th, 1864 
at Drury's Bluff, disabled and retired. 

First Lieutenant Benj. F. Halstead. 

Second Lieutenant Jno. J. Whitehurst, resigned 1863. 

Second Lieutenant Thos. A. McClanen. 

Third Lieutenant A. B. Williams, resigned 1861. 

First Sergeant Josiah W. Leath, promoted 1st Sergeant De- 
cember 1st, 1861, wounded May 16th, 1861. 

SERGEANTS. 

Chas. H. Melson, Jno. E. James, Robert M. Saddler. 

PRIVATES, ETC. 

Aydlott, John, Boggs, Wm., Cofer, Robert E., 

Allen, John R., Bush, Wm., Cofer, Reuben F., 

Brown, Jno. W., Blunt, Thos., Davis, Elzy, 

Bullock, Wm., Cooper, M. V. B., Dier, Edward F., 

Brummell, Richard, Cooper, James, Dozier, Jas. W., Jr., 

Barcroft, Edward, Capps, A. J., Downing, Chas. W., 

Beal, John, Callis, Henry, Everett, Chas., 

Balls, Jno. R., Constable, Chas. W., Fitchett, Wm., 



134 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



Forrest, John, 
Frost, "W. W., 
Flora, Henry C, 
Ferguson, Henry, 
Garrett, W. T.,' 
Graham, Joseph, 
Graham, Tinsley, 
Graham, Jno. B., 



Lamonte, Joshua, 
Lamonte, Henry, 
Lambert, Jno. ]\ r ., 
Lambert, Henry J. 
Land, Henry, 
Morris, A. W., 
Martin, Wm., 
Mott, Lewis, 



Godfrey, Gervais K., May, Joseph S., 

Godfrey, "Wm. T., Morse, Henry, 

Guy, George, Minor, Wm. B., 

Hudgins, Wm, II., Needom, Wilson, 

Iludgins, Samuel N., Omler, Joseph, 



Holland, John, 
Harvey, John, 
Harvey, Henry, 
Howe, Wm., 
Ironmonger, James, 
Jordan, Miles II., 
James, Geo. T., 



Old, W. W., 
Powell, Jno., 
Peyton, J as. A., 
Pugh, Abraham, 
Peed, Chas. W., 
Reed, John, 
Peed, David, 



James, Jno., (Sergt.) Ross, Edward, 
Jones, Jno. W., Rogers, Roderick, 



Kuhn, Thos. C., 
Lambert, Thos., 
Lee, Thos. J., 



Robinson, Wm., 
Rainey, Malachi, 
Revel, John, 



lawyer, C. T., 
Smith, Jas. E., 
Stringer, Thos. J., 
Smith, W. S. (Corp'l) 
Shermadine, Win., 
Sykes, Wm., 
S pence, Abner, 
Sykes, Jesse, 
Tucker, W. IL, 
Tucker, Samuel, 
Tebault, Daniel, 
Tripple, Chas., 
Vandenberg, James, 
Whitehurst, Jas. II. , 
Whitehurst, C. P., 
Whitehurst, W. A., 
Whitehurst, George, 
Wilder, Jas. M., 
Wilder, Benjamin, 
West, Jno. 
Wood, Lorenzo, 
Waterfield, Benj., 
Waterman, Absolem, 
Walker, W. W., 
Woodward, Samuel, 



CASUALTIES. 

Private, Balls, John R., wounded May 16th, 1864, died July 16th. 

" Crews, Jos. B., (Lynchburg) died in hospital, Richmond, August 

19th, 1864. 
Private, McGraw, Wm., (Lvnchburg) died in hospital, Richmond, July 29th, 

1864. 
Private, Phelps, Robert 8., (Lynchburg) died in hospital, Richmond, July 

6th, 1864. 
Private, Tinsley, Geo. W., (Lynchburg) wounded May 16th, 1864, died 

August 15th. 
Lieutenant, Chaplain, Wm. M., wounded May 16th, 1864, disabled and dis- 
charged. 
Private, Driscol, Chas. E., (Lynchburg) wounded May 16th, 1864. 
Graham, John B., wounded May 16th, 1864. 

" Leath, Josiah W., wounded May 16th, 1864. 

" Lee, Thos. J., wounded August 25th, 1864, lost a leg. 

" Old, W. W., wounded Junelst, 1862, Seven Pjnes. 

" Phillips, Aldusten D., (Lynchburg) wounded May 10th, 1864, and 

disabled, discharged November 28th, 1864. 
Private, Reed, David, wounded August 25th, 1864. 

" West, John, wounded May 16th, 1864. 

Col. Geo. A. Martin, formerly Captain of the company, thinks 
the following were killed or died, though their names seem to 
have been omitted from the official reports : 
Corporal Wm. Harden, killed Mav 10th, 1864, at Drury's Bluff. 
Private Mathias Wright, killed May 16th, 1864, at Drury's Bluff. 
" Joshua Lamonte, killed May 16th, 1864, at Drury's Bluff. % 



ST. BRIDE'S LT. ARTIURY,CO. I, THIRTY-EIGHTH VA.REGT. 135 

Private Henry Lamonte, killed August 25th, 1864, at Bermuda Hundred. 
Thos. Khun, killed August 25th, 1864. at Bermuda Hundred. 
" Henry Flora, died in hospital, Richmond. 
" ('has. Whitehurst, died in hospital, Richmond. 
" Win. Sykes, died in hospital, Richmond. 
" Jos. S. May. died in hospital, Petersburg. 

PROMOTIONS. 

Private W. W. Old was promoted to Captain and A. A. G. on the staff o^ 
General Edward Johnson, and afterwards on the staff of General Ewell. 

Private Charles W. Downing was promoted to Captain in Cohoon's Bat- 
talion. 

Private John Aydlott was promoted to Commissary Sergeant 20th Battal- 
ion Heavy Artillery. 

The following members of Company I surrendered at Appo- 
mattox : 

*Edward Barcroft, John W. Gunter, 

Jacob Connor, Win. Lettrell, 

*J. W. Dozier, P. D. Mitchell, 

W. A. Dunham, *A. Pugh, 

C. Driskell, *J. F. Sykes. 
*Original members of the company. The others were transferred to the 
com pany . 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE NORFOLK COUNTY RIFLE PATRIOTS, COMPANY F, FORTY-FIRST 
VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This was one of the largest and best companies which entered 
the service of the Confederate States. It was organized in 1860, 
the men being from that section of Norfolk county lying be- 
tween Washington Point, now Berkley, and Great Bridge, and 
was mustered into service on the 21st of April, 1861, at Norfolk. 
The following were the officers of the company at the breaking 
out of the war and under whom it was mustered into service : 

Captaiii — William II. Etheredge. 

First Lieutenant, Philip Biddle ; 2d Lieutenant, Jetson Jett ; 
3d Lieutenant, Arthur Portlock ; 4th Lieutenant, John N. Ether- 
edge. 

Lieutenant Etheredge was physically unable, on account of ill 
health, to do military duty, but was mustered in with the com- 
pany and served for the original term of enlistment of twelve 
months, when he was retired. 

On the 21st of April the company was ordered to take posses- 
sion of the arsenal at St. Helena, opposite the Gosport Navy 
Yard, and remained there until the latter part of May, when it 
was transferred to the Navy Yard and did guard duty there while 
the iron clacl Virginia (Merrimac) was being built. Captain Eth- 
eredge has related to the author the anxiety of Commodore For- 
rest, who had command of the Navy Yard and who seemed bur- 
dened with a fear that the Yankees would attempt to burn it up. 
On one occasion he informed Captain Etheredge that he had re- 
ceived a letter telling him that the Yankees had offered a million 
dollars to any one who would set fire to the ship, and urged re- 
doubled vigilance on the part of the guard. Captain Etheredge 
assured him that no Federal emissary should get near enough to 
set her on fire. Captain Etheredge says scarcely a day passed 
without some such incident as that happening between the Com- 
modore and himself. 

In March, 1862, the company left the Navy Yard, went to 
Seawell's Point and joined its regiment, the 41st Virginia, it 
being Company F. The officers of the 41st were Colonel John 
R. Chambliss, Lieutenant Colonel William A. Parham and Major 
Joseph Minetree. The company left Seawell's Point May 10th, 
1862, with the balance of Huger's Division for Richmond. In 
March Lieutenant Jett resigned and organized a company called 
the Border Rifles, of which he was elected Captain. As Com- 
pany F had more than the regulation number of men for one 

136 



NORFOLK CO. PATRIOTS, CO, F, FORTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 137 

company about twenty five or thirty of them at their own request 
were assigned to Captain Jett's new company, and their names 
will not appear on the roll of Company F. 

The first battle in which the 41st Regiment was engaged was 
the battle of Seven Pines. The regiment was under command 
of Colonel Chambliss and had already been assigned to Mahone's 
Brigade. It was advancing in line of battle, not aware of the 
close proximity of the enemy. Company F was on the extreme 
right and next to it was a company from Petersburg. While the 
regiment was advancing the left marched faster than the right, 
and being in an oblique position, received a flanking fire from the 
enemy, which, being unexpected, threw the regiment into confu- 
sion and that portion of it nearest the enemy retired very hastily. 
Captain Etheredge sprang to the front of his company, spoke a 
few words of encouragement to them, reminded them of their 
promise to follow wherever he led, and they stood by him man- 
fully. A portion of the Petersburg company, on his left, under 
their captain, also stood their ground, and these two companies 
formed a nucleus upon which the other companies rallied. 

In the midst of the confusion Colonel Chambliss rode in front 
of Company F and his horse was killed under him. Just as he 
fell Dr. James Parrish of Portsmouth, Surgeon of the regiment, 
rode up and offered his horse to the Colonel, who declined it, 
saying, " I believe I will stay here on foot with the old man," 
meaning Captain Etheredge. He reminded Dr. Parrish that his 
post was in the rear and ordered him to it. Colonel Chambliss 
assembled the captains of the various companies of the regiment 
at his tent the next day, and after complimenting Captain Ether- 
edge, told them that the stand made by Company F had saved 
the credit of the regiment. 

After the battle of Seven Pines Colonel Chambliss was trans- 
ferred to a cavalry regiment and Captain Etheredge was pro- 
moted to Major of the 41st. This also caused a change in the 
officers of Company F, and Lieutenant Biddle became captain. 
Captain Biddle died in a hospital September 16th, 1862, and 1st 
Lieutenant Arthur E. Portlock succeeded him. He was wounded 
at Chancellors ville May 3d, 1863, recovered from his wound and 
died from sickness in Richmond August 9th, 1864. Lieutenant 
W. Scott Sykes became captain at the death of Captain Portlock 
and commanded it until the close of the war. He was wounded 
July 30th, 1864, at the Crater, but recovered and surrendered 
with the company at Appomattox April 9th, 1865, with seventeen 
members of the company. The company participated in twenty- 
one pitched battles and numerous smaller affairs and lost thirty- 
one men by death from wounds or sickness. First Lieutenant 
John T. Widgeon was killed May 1st, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 

10 



138 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Captain Wm. H. Etheredge, promoted Major 41st Regiment, surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Captain Phillip W. Biddle, died September 16tli, 1862, Winchester. 

Captain Arthur E. Portlock, died August 9th, 1864, Richmond, wounded 
May 1st. 1863,G'hancellorsviile. 

Captain W. Scott Sykes, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater, surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Lieutenant John T. Widgeon, killed May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 

Lieutenant Robert C. Jones, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Lieutenant Wm. T. Gray, promoted 2d Lieutenant March 11th. 1864, re- 
signed. 

Lieutenant John N. Etheredge, not re-elected at reorganization in 1862. 

Sergeant John H. Kirby, sick in hospital at time of surrender. 

Sergeant David W. Whitehurst, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Sergeant John F. Murden, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater, surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Sergeant Ja,mes E. Armstrong, killed May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 

Sergeant Robert W. Carson, died February, 1865. 

Sergeant George T. Tart, died in prison, captured August 19th, 1864. 

Corporal John I). Hudgins, died January. 1863. 

Corporal Josephus Godfrey, killed August 30th, 1863, 2d Manassas. 

Corpora] John Z. Lowe, captured August 19th, 1864, not exchanged. 

Corporal H. T. Williamson, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Corporal Arthur H. Tatem, captured October 27th, 1864, not exchanged. 

PRIVATES. 

Butt, Frederick, captured October 27th, 1864, on parole at surrender. 

Butt, Henry, wounded July 2d, 1863, and disabled, Gettysburg. 

Butt, Francis, wounded August 30th, 1862, and disabled, Manassas. 

Barrett, Wm. S., appointed musician for regiment. 

Banks, Edwin, mortally wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Butler, James N., detailed in Q. M. Department. 

Bailey, Wm. H., (1) killed July 1st, 1862. Malvern Hill. 

Bailey, Wm. H., (2) captured on retreat from Petersburg. 

Ballentine, Thos. R., wounded June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines and furnished 
substitute. 

Buck, David. 

Cuthriell, Enos, detailed March 1st, 1862, by Secretary of War. 

Cuthriell, John W., detailed March 1st, 1862, by Secretary of War. 

Cuthriell. Joseph E., detailed March 1st, 1862, by Secretary of War. 

Carter, Wm. E., captured at evacuation of Petersburg. 

Creekraore, Gregory, detailed 1861 to work in Navy Yard. 

Detrick, John, wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, and furloughed. 

Dasbiell, Leven H., wounded Seven Pines, Malvern Hill and Manassas, and 
was detailed in Q. M. Department at surrender. 

Dey, Apollos 0., wounded June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines, furnished substi- 
tute. 

Dey, David, detailed by order of Secretary of War. 

Dunn, J. Thos., captured August 19th, 1864. not exchanged. 

Davis, Wm. H., captured on retreat from Petersburg. 

Davis, Wm. T. 

Deyser, Luke, killed on retreat from Petersburg. 

Edmonds, John J., detailed in hospital department. 

Edmonds, W. C, detailed in ordnance department. 

Edmunds, Henry. 

Edmunds, Abel, captured October 29th, 1864, and not exchanged. 

Elliott, Kemp B., discharged 1862. 

Etheredge, Charles 0., wounded June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines. 

Edmondson. Gabriel, wounded September 17th, 1862, Sharpsburg, and 
transferred to navy. 

Etheredge, Samuel A., surrendered at Appomattox. 



NORFOLK CO. PATRIOTS, CO. F, FORTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 139 

Forbes, Elijah R, wounded May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville, and transferred 
to navy. 

Foreman, Josephus, killed August 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas. 

Fisher, Caleb, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Forrest, John II., detailed in Q. M. department. 

Foreman, Washington, wounded June 30th, 1862, Charles City Road, sur- 
rendered at Appomattox. 

Foreman, Thos., in hospital during the war. 

Fitch ett, Win. E., wounded June 1st. 1862, Seven Pines. 

Fentress, John, wounded June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines, disabled July 1st, 
1802, at Malvern Hill and discharged. 

Godfrey, Walton, died December, 1862, near Fredericksburg. 

Gibson, Peter 11., sick in hospital at time of surrender. 

Gilbert, Robertson, detailed by order of General Mahoue. 

Gilbert, Richard B. 

Hodges, Riley W., killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Hodges, Wm. W., killed June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines. 

Hodges, Josiah, died in hospital. 

Hodges, David, killed July 2d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Hanbury, Wm. T., discharged. 

Howell, Jesse E. 

Hughes, Isaac B., killed June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines. 

Harrison, Benjamin F., detailed in hospital, Richmond. 

Halstead, Henry, captured. 

Hodges, John II., wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, furnished substi- 
tute. 

Hodges, John K., wounded May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 

Hall, Samuel, wounded June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines, and killed July 30th, 
1864, crater. 

Hodges, Samuel, killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Hall, Edward, wounded May 6th, 1864, Wilderness, surrendered at Appo- 
mattox. 

Hodges, Geo. A., discharged April 16th. 1862. 

Hudgins, Wm., died in hospital April 18th, 1862. 

Hall, Geo. W., captured on retreat from Petersburg. 

Herbert. Melnotte, promoted 1st Lieutenant Company D. 

Jones, Walter C. killed May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 

Kirby, Wm. H.. discharged March 25th, 1862, disability. 

Knight, Wm. H. 

Lowe, Win. J., captured in Petersburg. 

Lockhart, Benj. H., wounded August 30th, 1862, Manassas, and detailed in 
passport office, Gordonsville. 

Lynch, Oresmus M., wounded June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines, and captured. 

Merchant, Francis M., promoted Lieutenat Company K, 61st Virginia. 

Miller, Wm. H., detailed to regimental drum corps. 

McClanen, Wilson L., died in hospital. 

Murphy, Wm. J. 

Murphy. James T. 

Murden, Samuel, wounded June 22d, 1864, Wilcox Farm, and detailed in 
commissary department. 

Murden, Reuben, mortally wounded May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 

Murden, Henry, died in hospital, 1862. 

Murden, Camillas, killed May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 

Manning, Canning, captured and not exchanged. 

McPherson, Robert, discharged April 25th, 1862. 

Miller, W. H. 

Nash, James E., discharged for physical disability. 

Nicholson, Allen F., discharged April, 1862, over age. 

Portlock, Wm. F., wounded August 30th. 1862, Manassas, surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Portlock, Dempsy, surrendered at Appomattox. 



140 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Pherral, Isaac, killed August 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas. 

Randolph, James A., wounded and disabled August 30, 1802, 2d Manassas. 

Ritter, James A., wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater, Surrendered at Appo- 
mattox. 

Sykes, James W., wounded July 2d, 1863, Gettysburg, surrendered at Appo- 
mattox. 

Sykes, Alex F., wounded June 30th, 1862, Charles City Road. 

Speight, David, died in hospital. 

Scaff, John D., surrendered at Appomattox. 

Squires, Seth W., died in hospital, 1861. 

Tatem, Nathaniel C, detached with Ransom's Brigade, surrendered at Ap- 
pomattox. 

Tatem, Elijah A., wounded and disabled July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, and 
discharged. 

Tatem, John W., 

Taylor, James F., died in hospital. 

Whitehurst, Christopher, discharged. 

Williamson, Virginius, captured on retreat from Petersburg. 

Williamson, Samuel, captured. 

Williams, Samuel, killed June 2d, 1864, Cold Harbor. 

Woodhouse, Moses C. 

Wright, David L., discharged. 

Woodward, Oden, captured in Pennsylvania and never heard from. 

Williamson, Everett, appointed Ordinance Sergeant of regiment, surrendered 
at Appomattox. 

Vellines, Watson B., discharged April 16th, 1862, by General Huger. 
Killed and died— 31. 

This company participated in the battles of — 

Seven Pines, June 1st, 18(32. Spotsylvania, C. H., May 12th, 

Charles City Road, Jnne 30th, 1864. 

1862. Turkey Ridge, skirmishing June 
Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862. 4th to 13th, 1864. 
Manassas, Aug. 30th, 1862. Frazier's Farm June 13th, 1864. 
Crampton Clap, Sep. 14th, 1S62. Wilcox Farm, June 22d, 1864. 
Sharpsburg, Sep. 17th, 1862. Cold Harbor, June 2d and 3d, 
Fredericksburg, Dec. 13th,1862. 1864. 

Chancellorsville, May 1st, 2d, Crater, July 30th, 1864. 

and 3d, 1863. Davis Farm, Aug. 19th, 1864. 

Salem Church, May 3d, 1863. Ream's Station, Aug. 25th,1864. 

Gettysburg, July '1st and 2d, Burgess Mill, Oct. 29th, 1864. 

1863. Hicksford, Dec. 9th, 1864. 
Bristoe Station, Oct., 14th, 1863. Hatcher's Run, Feb. 6th, 1865. 
Mine Run, Dec. 2d, 1863. Cumberland Church, April 7th, 
Wilderness, May 6th, 1864. 1865. 

Amelia C. H., April 5th, 1865. 
In all of the above battles the Confederates were victorious ex- 
cept Malvern Hill, Crampton Gap and Bristoe Station. In the 
first and last of these three the Federals successfully resisted the 
Confederate attacks, but retreated after the battles. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE JACKSON GRAYS, COMPANY A, SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was recruited in St. Bride's Parish of Norfolk 
county, in the section now known as Pleasant Grove Magisterial 
District, and was organized at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, 
July 1st, 1861. The company left Pleasant Grove on the 10th of 
July, and reached the Court House at Portsmouth on the 12th, 
and was mustered into service there. It was then officered as 
follows : 

Captain, Win. IT. Stewart. 

First Lieutenant, Wm. C. Wallace ; 2d Lieutenant, John T. 
West ; 3d Lieutenant, Geo. T. Hodges. 

First Sergeant, Camillus A. Nash ; 2d Sergeant, William A. 
West ; 3d Sergeant, William A. Dudley ; 4th Sergeant, Henry S. 
Etheredge. 

First Corporal, Peleg Pritchard ; 2d Corporal, Geo. D. Old ; 
3d Corporal, Thos. H. Sykes ; 4th Corporal, Laban Mansfield. 

The company was named after Mr. James P. Jackson, the pro- 
prietor of the Marshall House in Alexandria, who was killed in 
that city on the 24th of May for defending the flag he had hoisted 
over his hotel. That day, a large force of Federals, numbering 
eight or nine thousand men, was pushed across the Potomac river 
early in the morning, and occupied the town. Seeing the Con- 
federate flag flying at the top of the staff on the hotel, Colonel 
Ellsworth, of Chicago, commanding a regiment of Fire Zouaves 
of New York city, went up to the top of the building, with sev- 
eral men from his regiment, and took it clown. As he was de- 
scending from the elevation, Mr. Jackson, who had been aroused 
by the noise, came out from his bed room with a double barrel 
gun, and upon his asking the cause of the commotion, Colonel 
Ellsworth pointed to the flag in his possession and said : " This 
is my trophy." Mr. Jackson replied, " And you are mine." and 
immediately fired, killing him dead. Colonel Ellsworth's com- 
panions returned the fire, shooting Mr. Jackson and afterwards 
running a bayonet in him. 

After remaining at the Court House for a few days, the com- 
pany was ordered to the batteries at the Naval Hospital and re- 
mained on duty there testing the heavy rifled cannon which were 
being re-modeled in the Gosport Navy Yard, until December, 
when, at its own request, it was sent to Sewell's Point and put in 
charge of a masked battery of six heavy rifled guns of six-inch 
caliber. This was the most advanced battery among the defences 

141 



142 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

of the harbor of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and was within range 
of the Federal guns at the Rip Raps or Fort Calhoun. 

When the Confederate iron-clad Virginia, better known, how- 
ever, as the Merrimac, went down to Hampton Roads and had 
her battles with the United States fleet, on the 8th and 9th of 
March, 1862, this battery took part, with two rifle six-inch guns, 
in the engagement, as the naval vessels, passing to and from Fort- 
ress Monroe, passed within range of its guns. Two men belong- 
ing to the company were wounded in this engagement. They 
were Lieutenant Wm. C. Wallace, who was slightly hurt, and 
Private A. B. Cooper, whose skull was fractured, and whose 
wound was so serious that he was incapacitated from further ser- 
vice and was discharged. They were wounded by a shell from 
the Sawyer gun at the Rip Raps. One of the rifle guns burst 
one of its bands from too rapid firing and becoming overheated. 
On the morning of May 10th, 1862, the company abandoned the 
battery by order of General Ltuger and formed the rear guard of 
the troops as they fell back upon Norfolk, . crossed the ferry to 
Portsmouth and was the last command which left that city by rail, 
being moved out on flat cars late in the afternoon. Only one 
company remained after the departure of the Jackson Grays, 
namely, the Portsmouth Rifle Company, and that marched out of 
the city to Suffolk. 

Upon the arrival of the company at Petersburg, it was assigned 
to duty with the 61st Virginia Regiment as Company A. At that 
time the regiment was under command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Wm. Fred. Niemeyer, and, in a few days, the company, with 
Company C, the Blanchard Grays, of Norfolk county, was de- 
tached from the regiment, and with a two gun battery of six-' 
pounders, ordered to the neighborhood of Bermuda Hundreds, in 
Chesterfield county, to watch the movements of the Federal fleet 
in James river. While there, during the seven day's battles, the 
fleet made a demonstration up the Appomattox river towards 
Petersburg, and attempted to secure a large quantity. of coal which 
was stored at Port Walthal, but this small force attacked them 
and so annoyed them as to force them to hug the opposite shore, 
where several of the vessels stuck in the mud, and after two days 
the enemy was forced to set fire to and abandon one gunboat. 
This action took place on the 26th of June, 1862. From Ber- 
muda Hundreds, the company was ordered to guard the fords of 
the Rappahannock river, while General Lee, with his army, was 
engaged in the Maryland campaign. While there, upon one oc- 
casion, while scouting near Bristoe Station, it met a Federal brig- 
age belonging to Seigles' corps, accompanied by a battery of artil- 
lery and a company of cavalry. Under cover of a forest, which 
concealed the smallness of the Confederate force, an attack was 
made upon the Federals who were repelled. The company cap- 



JACKSON GRAYS, CO. A, SIXTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 143 

tured several prisoners and withdrew without having suffered any 
loss. After the return of General Lee's army from Maryland in 
October, 1862, the Jackson Grays, with the 61st Virginia Regi- 
ment, was assigned to Mahone's Brigade, and became a part of 
the army of Northern Virginia. From that time it followed 
closely the fortunes of that army, took part in all of its battles and 
victories and marches, and when the final defeat attended its ban- 
ners, surrendered fifteen muskets at Appomattox Court Hbuse on 
the 9th of April, 1S65. 

Of the commissioned officers of the company, not one escaped 
the shots of the enemy. Captain Win. H. Stewart, its first cap- 
tain, was promoted to major and then to lieutenant-colonel of the 
regiment, and was twice wounded. First Lieutenant William C. 
Wallace was promoted to captain in May, 1862, upon the promo- 
tion of Captain Stewart to major. He was wounded slightly at 
Se well's Point in the engagement of the 8th of March, 1862, be- 
tween the ironclad Virginia (Merrimac) and the Federal fleet, in 
which the shore battery at Sewell's Point took part, and was mor- 
tally wounded on the 19th of August, 1864, at the battle on the 
Petersburg and Weldon railroad, sometimes called the battle of 
Davis Farm. He fell into the hands of the enemy and died 
within their lines. He was a little more than twenty-two years 
old at the time of his death, having been born at Wallaceton, 
Norfolk county, on the 23d of March, 1842. He was brave, gentle 
and polished, and loved by all who knew him. 

Upon the death of Captain Wallace, Lieutenant John T. West 
became captain of the company. From November, 1863, until 
August 19th, 1864, Lieutenant West was detailed from the com- 
pany by order of General Mahone, and placed in command of a 
select company of sharp shooters, which with four other compa- 
nies, one from each regiment in the brigade, constituted the corps 
of one hundred and fifty men known as Mahone' s sharp shooters, 
more than three-fourths of whom were killed or wounded during the 
campaign of 1864, but from that date, until the close of the war, 
commanded his own company. He was wounded twice, once by 
a bayonet thrust at the Crater, July 30th, 1864, and once by a 
piece of shell on the Plank Road in February, 1865. Third 
Lieutenant George T. Hodges, on account of the promotion of 
Captain Stewart and Lieutenant West, and the death of Captain 
Wallace, became First Lieutenant of the company and escaped 
with a slight wound, which he received May 3d, 1863, at the battle 
of Salem Church, a part of the battle of Chancellorsville, which 
took place between Sedgwick's corps of General Hooker's army 
and a portion of General Lee's army, which had been sent to stop 
"his advance from Fredericksburg. First Sergeant C. A. Nash was 
promoted to second lieutenant, and was slightly wounded at the 
Crater, July 30th, 1864, but remained with the company. On the 



144 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

19tli of August, 1864, he received a very severe wound and shortly 
afterwards resigned his commission and volunteered as a private 
in Mosby's command. Lieutenant Nash is at this writing, 1892, 
Colonel of the 4th Virginia Volunteers. The company lost by 
deaths from wounds and disease forty-three men, probably more 
than any other company which went into the service from Ports- 
mouth and Norfolk county and the roll which follows gives the 
names of seventeen others who were wounded. Some of them 
were wounded more than once. There were certainly others, 
though they have escaped from memory in the lapse of twenty- 
seven years. At the battle of the Crater, July 30th, 1864, the 
company lost four men killed and six wounded, which was fully 
half of those present for duty. It lost men killed in the battles 
of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, 
Cold Harbor, Wilcox Farm, the Crater, Davis Farm, Burgess 
Mill and Hatcher's Run, while in the other battles in which it was 
engaged its casualties embraced the wounded only. Very few of 
its members fell into the hands of the enemy and some of those 
were wounded. Company A was a company of whose war record 
Norfolk county may well feel proud, in fact, she may of all of her 
companies. Below will be found a roster of the company, copied 
from the muster roll of May, 1862 : 

Captain Win. H. Stewart, promoted to Lieutenant Colonel 61st Virginia, 

wounded. 
Captain W. C. Wallace, wounded Sewell's Point, killed August 19th, 1864. 
Captain John T. West, wounded by bayonet at Crater, wounded February 

28th, 1865. 
Lieutenant Geo. T. Hodges, wounded May 3d, 1863, Salem Church. 
Lieutenant Camillus A. Nash, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater, and August 

19th, 1864, Davis Farm. 
Sergeant Wm. A. West, appointed Commissary Sergeant in 1864. 
Sergeant Win. R. Dudley, captured at Burgess Mill in 1864. 
Sergeant Henry S. Etheridge, appointed hospital steward. 
Corporal Pelig Pritchard, wounded October 20th, 1864, Burgess Mill. 
Corporal Geo. D. Old, promoted Captain and Commissary 61st Virginia. 
Corporal Thos. H. Sykes, captured at Gettysburg. * 

Corporal Laban Manstield, killed October 20th, 1864, Burgess Mill. 
Musician James Toy. 
Musician Wm. Mahoney. 

PRIVATES. 

Butt, Henry Jas., killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Bright, Geo. W., killed May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 

Curling, Ashwell, killed June 22d, 1864, at Wilcox Farm. 

Castine, Jeremiah, killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Creekmore, Josiah, discharged in 1862 for disability. 

Castine, J. T. 

Cooper, A. B., wounded March 8th, 1862, Sewell's Point, and discharged. 

Cooper, J. A., wounded by bayonet July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Cooper, C. C. , wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Creekmore, Marshall O., killed by sharpshooter May 14th, 1864, Spotsyl-* 

vania C. H. 
Creekmore, John W., promoted to Sergeant, captured October 20th, 1864, 

Burgess Mill. 



JACKSON GRAYS, CO. A, SIXTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 145 

Creekmore, Willoughby W., died in hospital, 1864. 

Culpepper, Daniel R., died in hospital, 1863. 

Culpepper, John, died in hospital, 1863, U. S. Ford. 

Deford, John W., promoted to corporal, died in hospital, May, 1863. 

Diggs, Benj. F., captured at Gettysburg. 

Duncan, Abner, wounded and disabled February 28th, 1864, Germanna Ford. 

Ferrell, John, died in hospital, April, 1862. 

Foreman, Acelius G., killed May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 

Foreman, Carey, wounded October 2(Jth, 1864, Burgess Mill. 

Foreman, W. A., detailed in hospital. 

Fulford, James E , killed February 6th, 1865, Hatcher's Run. 

Fulford, James, died in hospital, U. S. Ford, 1863. 

Grimes, J. A. 

Grimes, J. F. W. 

Guinn, Franklin. 

Harrison, Wm. H., wounded October 14th, 1863, Bristoe Station, placed 

on roll of honor, by order of General Lee, for gallantry at Crater. 
Halstead, J. P., wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Halstead, T. E. 

Halstead, J. E., died in hospital. 

Hodges, Isaiah, killed by sharpshooter May 14th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Hodges, Caleb. 

Hodges, Thomas H., died in hospital March, 1863, U. S. Ford. 
Jennings, Lemuel, killed May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 
Jennings, Wickers P., promoted to corporal. 
Lewis, Abner. 

Lynch, John, died in hospital March, 1863, II. S. Ford. 
Lynch, Leroy, died in hospital March, 1863, U. S. Ford. 
Lee, Alexander 0. 
Mathias, Simon. 

Morgan, W. P., died in hospital from wound. 
Morgan, A. C, wounded August 19th, 1864, and died. 
Miller, J. J., wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Miller, J. H. 
Miller, Lovett. 

Mercer, Sam. M., died in hospital. 
Murphy, T. 0. C. 

Nash, Cincinnati, promoted Sergeant. 
Nash, Henry. 
Only, Nahariah. 

Overton, C. N., wounded at Gettysburg. 
Overton, Grandy. 

Prichard, Wiley, died in hospital, 1862. 
Pritchard, Joseph, died in hospital January, 1862. 
Ried, William M., wounded May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Scott, Wm. T. , wounded and died in prison September, 1863, 
Scott, Joseph. 

Sivells. D. T., killed May 2d, 1863, Chancellorsville. 
Sivells, Alexander. 

Speight, Benj. F., died in hospital January, 1862. 

Sykes. W. O.. promoted to Corporal, killed August 19th, 1864, Davis Farm. 
Sykes, Joseph, killed July 2d, 1863, Gettysburg, 
Sykes, Josephus. 

Sykes, Henry, died in hospital, TI. S. Ford, March, 1863. 
Sykes, J. C. C., died in hospital, September, 1863. 
Thompson, Wm., detailed in Ordnance Department. 
Warden, James. 

Warden, Richard EL, died in hospital. 
Waller, W. George, died in prison. 
Wood, Joseph N., promoted to Corporal. 
Wood, Keeling, died in hospital, March, 1864, 



146 * NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Woodward, Joseph T., died in hospital, January, 1862. 

Woodward, Leander, wounded at Gettysburg. 

Whitehurst, Robert. 

Whitehurst, Willoughbv, killed May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 

Williams, D. A., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Williams, Marcellus W., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Wright, Peter, wounded May 6th, 1864, Wilderness and at Crater. 

West, heroy MeC, promoted Corporal, wounded May 6th, 1864, Wilderness, 

October 20th, 1864, Burgess Mill. 
West, W. W., transferred to navy. 
Whitehead, Martin V. 

Williams, Joseph, died in hospital December, 1861. 
Williams, M. D., died in hospital January, 1863. 
Worden, Wm. H., died in hospital February, 1862. 

Killed and died— 43. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE WILSON GUARDS, COMPANY B, SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was organized in 1861 in that portion of Nor- 
folk comity now known as Butt's Road and Pleasant Grove town- 
ships or magisterial districts, and contained a number of North 
Carolinians from Currituck county, near the Norfolk county line. 
The company was named after Colonel Samuel M. Wilson, who 
was then engaged in organizing a regiment of heavy artillery, 
and it was the intention of the Wilson Guards to form a part of 
that regiment. After being mustered into service the company 
was, at its own request, assigned to Colonel Wilson's command as 
Company B. The officers of the company at its organization 
were : 

Captain, J. W. M. Hopkins. 

First Lieutenant, Thomas F. Baxter ; 2d Lieutenant, A. II. 
Lindsay ; 3d Lieutenant, James E. Fulford. 

First Sergeant, James A. Stott. 

Lieutenant Lindsay resigned January 20th, 1862, and Lieuten- 
ant Fulford was promoted to 2d Lieutenant, and Sergeant Stott 
was elected 3d Lieutenant. This caused the promotion of Benj. 
F. Baxter to 1st Sergeant, but on the 19th of May he was trans- 
ferred to the Petersburg Cavalry and A. B. C. Fisher became 1st 
Sergeant. Captain Hopkins resigned cVi the 3d of January, 
1863, Lieutenant Baxter became Captain, Lieutenant Fulford 
was advanced to 1st, and Lieutenant Stott to 2d Lieutenant, and, 
on the 13th of January, Sergeant Fisher was elected 3d Lieuten- 
ant. Captain Baxter was wounded at the battle of Davis' Farm 
on the 19th of August, 1861, and Lieutenant Fulford was cap- 
tured at the battle of Burgess Mill on the 27th of October. 
Lieutenant Stott was wounded at the battle of Burgess' Mill, but 
recovered sufficiently to rejoin the company, and surrendered with 
it at Appomattox Court House. He Avas acting Adjutant of the 
regiment at the time of the surrender. Lieutenant Fisher died 
in a hospital at Charlottesville on the 12th of March, 1864. 

Upon the evacuation of Portsmouth, the Wilson Guards joined 
the 61st Regiment in Petersburg and assisted in the election of 
regimental officers, after which it did provost duty for a while in 
that city and was subsequently sent with Company A on picket 
duty on the Appomattox river in the vicinity of City Point. In 
August it rejoined the regiment and moved to Richmond, thence 
to the upper Rappahannock or Rapidan river. While there the 
company had two skirmishes with the enemy— one at Warrenton 
Junction on the 4th of November, 1862, and the other at Rappa- 

147 



148 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

hannock bridge on tlie 7th. It rejoined the regiment on the 24th 
and was with it when it began the march to Fredericksburg. The 
company had two other first Sergeants in addition to those men- 
tioned above. John H. Tucker succeeded Sergeant A. B. C. 
Fisher when the latter was promoted to 3d Lieutenant on the 
13th of January, 1863, and held the position until August 17th, 
1864, when he died from wounds received at the battle of the Crater, 
July 30th. Willoughby D. Barnard then succeeded to the first 
sergeancy and held it until the close of the war. 

The company lost by death fully one-third of the members 
who left Norfolk county with it, and surrendered at Appomattox 
with one commissioned officer, four non-commissioned officers and 
eight privates. At the time of the evacuation of Portsmouth by 
the Confederates, it was on duty at Barrett's Neck. 

Below will be found the roll of the company embracing both 

the Norfolk county and Currituck county men : 

Captain J. W. M. Hopkins, resigned January 3d, 1 863. 

First Lieutenant Thomas F. Baxter, promoted Captain January 3d, 1863, 

wounded August 19th, 1864. Davis' Farm. 
Second Lieutenant James E. Fulford, promoted 1st Lieutenant, wounded 

July 30th, 1864, and captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 
Third Lieutenant James A. Stott, promoted 2d Lieutenant, wounded Aug. 

19th, 1864, October 17th, 1861, rejoined company, surrendered at Ap- 
pomattox. 
First Sergeant Benjamin F. Baxter, transferred to Petersburg cavalry May 

19th, 1862. 
Second Sergeant A. B. C Fisher, promoted 3d Lieutenant January 13th, 

1863, died in hospital March 12th, 1864, in Charlottesville. 
Third Sergeant John H. Tucker, promoted to 1st Sergeant, wounded July 

30th, 1864, at the Crater and died August 17th. 
Fourth Sergeant, Willoughby B. Barnard, promoted 1st Sergeant April 

17th, 1864. 
Fifth Sergeant Francis H. Williams. 
Corporal Thomas Williams, promoted Ordnance Sergeant 61st Begiment, 

captured December 17th, 1863, in Currituck county, North Carolina, 

and exchanged. 
Corporal Ivy C. Brown, promoted Sergeant, killed June 30th, 1864, Cold 

Harbor. 
Corporal John II. Halstead, transferred to Signal Corps April 30th, 1862, 
Corporal James E. Tucker, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

PRIVATES. 

Ansel, Andrew J., captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Asbold, Wra. 

Aydelott, Jacob. 

Ballance, Stephen R., wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Ballance, Stephen R. Jr., wounded and captured August 19th, 1864, Davis' 

Farm. 
Bovvden, John A., killed August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 
Beasley, Joachin, promoted Corporal. 

Bunnell. Kenneth, captured May 26th, 1864 sick in hospital Atlee Station. 
Ballentine, James M., died in hospital April 11th, 1862. 
Bray, Thomas A., died in hospital June 1st, 1864, Richmond. 
Bourke, Thomas, died in hospital 1862, Richmond. 
Cotton, Benjamin C, died in hospital December 3d, 1862. 
Creekmore, Seth. 



WILSON GUARDS, CO. B, SIXTY-FIRST YA. REGT. 149 

Curling, Joseph H. Sr., wounded and captured August 19th, 1864, Davis' 
Farm . 

Curling. Joseph H. Jr., died in hospital February 26th, 1864, Orange Court 
House. 

Curling. Z. T., captured October 27th. 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Cooper, William A., wounded June 22d, 1864, Wilcox Farm. 

Davis, William G. B., discharged July 25th, 1863, disability. 

Davis, James, died in hospital 1862. 

Doxey, David W., killed August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Dudley, Willis W., died at Point Lookout April, 1865. 

Eason, John T., captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Ferrell, George. 

Faushaw, Alpheus, detailed Teamster, June 17th, 1.862. 

Fentress, Joseph, died in hospital January 24th, 1864, Petersburg. 

Foreman, John W., transferred to Company G, April 30th, 1863. 

Grandy, A. W., transferred from Company C November 23d, 1863. 

Gregorv, William H., wounded June 22d, 1861, at Wilcox Farm, died June 
25th. 

Grimstead, Jonathan, died in hospital December 11th, 1862. 

Hall, Thomas F. 

Hall, Samuel, wounded and captured August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Halstead, William M., promoted Corporal, died in hospital June25th,1863. 

Harris, Samuel. 

Harrison, John S., captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Hodges, Celius, wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater, died August 3d. 

Hodges, Thomas W. 

Hodges, John W.. died in hospital June 18th, 1862. 

Hanbury, John W. 

Jones, Celius W., died in hospital March 29th, 1862. 

Keacon. Samuel, discharged December 22d, 1862, overage. 

Kinsey, James M., detailed in hospital. 

Kinsey, William H., detailed as nurse in hospital March 8th, 1863. 

Kinsey, Samuel, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Lee, Madison, wounded June 22d. 1864, at Wilcox Farm. 

Lee, John J., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Martin, Charles, discharged August 14th, 1864, over age. 

Mathias, Hilliard W.. wounded October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Maund, David W., transferred to Signal Corps April 30th, 1862. 

McClanan, Henry B., promoted Corporal, wounded July 30th, 1864, at 
Crater, died August 6th. 

McPherson, Jesse, wounded July 4th, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Miles, A. W., died in hospital. 

Mercer, Jacob B., wounded May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania aud died. 

Miller, Jesse, captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Mills, James, wounded December 12th, 1862, at Fredericksburg, died De- 
cember 13th. 

Nichols, Thomas J., discharged July 15th, 1863, disability. 

Nichols, Willoughby, killed July 30th, 1864. at the Crater. 

Nichols, James, died in hospital December 16th, 1863. Richmond. 

Parsons, Johnson T., captured July 5th, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Parker, Peter, died in hospital 1863, Richmond. 

Powers, Wesley, transferred to Company C November 23d. 1863. 

Rogers, Charles F., died in hospital April 12th, 1863, U. S. Ford. 

Saunders, Daniel, died in hospital February 13th, 1803. 

Scarff, Charles S., captured June 6th, 1864, Cold Harbor. 

Smith, Richard. 

Simmons, John R., transferred to Company H January 1st, 1863. 

Steel, William W., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Stewart, Ash well. 

Stewart, Tazwell, died in hospital 1863, Richmond. 

Stewart, William, killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H. 



150 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Stanlev, Samuel, died in hospital April 15th, 1864. 

Stanley, Hillary, died in hospital June 18th, 18G2, City Point, 

Sykes, William, discharged May 13th, 1862, disability. 

Sykes, George A., killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Thompson, Christopher. 

Waterfield, ('one. 

Waterfield, William T., died in hospital May 14th, 1863. 

Watertield, Alex., died in hospital June 22d, 1862. 

Waterfield, Malachi J., killed in battle. 

Wicker, C. W., wounded Augnst 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Waterfield, John C, wounded and disabled near Petersburg, 1864. 




....is, Qv.xl, 
Wicker, William T-, died in hospital Februrry 18th, 1863. 
Killed and died— 38. 



CHAPTEK XVIII. 

THE BLANCHARD GRAYS', COMPANY C, SIXTY -FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was organized in the Great Bridge section of 
Norfolk comity in 1861, and was named in honor of Colonel A. 
G. Blancliard, commander of the 1st Louisiana Regiment. Upon 
being mustered into service it was assigned to the battalion which 
Colonel Samuel M. Wilson was organizing for duty in the batteries 
around the harbor of Norfolk and Portsmouth. This battalion 
afterwards became the (ilst Virginia Regiment, and the Blanch- 
arc! Grays became Company C. The following were the officers : 

Captain, John G. "Wallace. 

First Lieutenant, Ashville Simmons ; 2d Lieutenant, St. Julien 
Wilson ; 3d Lieutenant, Benj. James. 

First Sergeant, John H. Bogart. 

The company remained on duty near Portsmouth until the 
evacuation of the city, May 10th, 1862, when it was carried by 
rail to Petersburg and participated in the organization and election 
of officers of the 61st Regiment. It did provost duty in Peters- 
burg for a while and went from there to the Appomattox river on 
picket duty, and about the 28th of August reported back to the 
regiment on Dunn's Hill and accompanied it to Richmond. Early 
in September it was ordered to the Rapidan with the regiment 
and did picket duty along the river guarding fords, and scouted 
as far as Warrenton Junction. Upon the return of General Lee's 
army from the Maryland campaign, the various companies of the 
61st Regiment which were scattered along the Rapidan, were 
concentrated, and the regiment moved down to Fredericksburg to 
observe the movements of Burnside's army, and delay him as long 
as possible in crossing the Rappahannock river. The company 
was present at the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, 
Salem Church, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, 
Spotsylvania Court House, and in fact in all of the battles in 
which Mahone's Brigade was engaged after October, 1862. 

Lieutenant Simmons resigned his commission as 1st lieutenant 
on the 30th of March, 1864, and Lieutenants St. Julien Wilson 
and Benjamin James were promoted to 1st and 2d lieutenants re- 
spectively. At the battle of the Crater, fought on the 30th of 
July, 1864, Captain Wallace was severely wounded and disabled, 
and Lieutenant Wilson was mortally wounded. Lieutenant James 
was promoted to 1st lieutenant upon the death of Lieutenant Wil- 
son and was captured on the 27th of October following, at the 
battle of Burgess' Mill. This left the company without any 
commissioned officers. 

151 



152 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

This company lost as many men during the war, in proportion 
to its numbers, as probably any other which entered the Confed- 
erate army from Eastern Virginia. Of eighty-four names on its 
muster rolls six were transferred to other commands, and three 
were discharged from the army upon surgeon's certificates of dis- 
ability, thus leaving with the company only seventy-five men and 
of these, thirty-three never returned. Disease carried off more 
than were killed in battle. 

After the battle of Burgess Mill the company was commanded 
by Lieutenant V. A. Ilaynes, of Company D, and surrendered at 
Appomattox with six privates. 

Below will be found the roll of the company : 
Captain John G. Wallace, wounded and disabled July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
First Lieutenant Ashville Simmons, resigned March 30th, 1864. 
Second Lieutenant St. Julien Wilson, promoted 1st Lieutenant April 1 st, 

1864, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater, died July 31st. 
Third Lieutenant Benjamin James, promoted 1st Lieutenant Julv 30th, 

1864, captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess Mill. 
First Sergeant Jhon H. Bogart, captured October 16th, 1863, at War- 

renton. 
Sergeant Jas. E. Garret, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 
Wm. H. James. 

" John Shirley. 
Corporal Josiah Etheredge. 

Wm. H. Calhoun, transferred to Maryland line February 1st, 1864. 
Ed. W. Forbes, wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

" John Gallup. 

PRIVATES. 

Banks, Wm., died in hospital May 6th, 1862, Norfolk. 

Banks, James M. 

Beals, Benj. J., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Bell, Enoch F., died in hospital March 30th, 1863, U. S. Ford. 

Byrum, Wm. F. 

Berry, Martin, discharged March 29th, 1862, for disability. 

Boushell, M. A., died in hospital February 13th, 1864, Orange Court House. 

Berryman, Ed. F., appointed Sergeant Major 61st Regiment July 1st, 1862. 

Bradley, Reuben. 

Butt. John. 

Burford, Samuel. 

Byrum, James C, wounded May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville, died May 7th. 

Byrum, Gideon F., died in hospital January 23d, 1863, Richmond. 

Cartwright, James E. 

Cox, Sharp K. 

Creekmore, Theophilus. died in hospital April 14th, 1863, at U. S. Ford. 

Cowell, Benj. B., promoted corporal, killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Curtis, Thomas, discharged January 30th, 1863, disability. 

Darnold, John W. 

Deconier, John, discharged February 24th, 1864, disability. 

Doxey, Graudy B., wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Eason, Geo. W. 

Forbes, Nathaniel, died in hospital April, 1863, U. S. Ford. 

Fulford, Thos. H., captured July 14th, 1863, in Maryland. 

Glenn, Samuel T., transferred to Maryland line March 26th, 1862. 

Grandy, Abner N., transferred to Company B November 21st, 1862. 

Gallop, John C, died in hospital March 20th, 1863, Richmond. 

Guilford, James, died in hospital May 16th, 1863, Charlottesville. 

Halstead, Miles W., wounded July 30th, 1863, at Crater, died August -st. 



BLANCHARD GRAYS, CO. C, SIXTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 153 

Harris, Miles D., wounded July 30th, 1864, and captured October 27th, 
1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Hill, Solomon A., died in hospital October 16th, 1862, Culpepper. 

Hughes, Charles. 

Kher, William, wounded May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville, died May 7th. 

Lupton, J. W. 

Lee, Willis, died in hospital June 17th, 1862, Petersburg. 

Marchant, Johnston, captured July 30th, 1864, at the Crater. 

Mansfield, Mathias, died in hospital October 10th, 1862, Petersburg. 

Mercer, Samuel, died in hospital June 8th, 1862, Richmond. 

Miller, Frederick. 

Mathews, IOphriam, wounded August 19th, 1864, Wilcox Farm. 

Mercer, Jas. P. W., wounded May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville, died May 7th. 

Miller, Peter F., transferred to Company I, 61st Virginia Regiment. 

Miller, Peleg, died in hospital April 18th, 1862, St. Helena. 

Melson, Henry, died in hospital September 20th, 1863, U.S. Ford. 

McPherson, James M., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Northern, James, died in hospital June 24th, 1862, Richmond. 

Only, Wm. H., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Overton, Samuel S. 

Paul, William James, transferred to Maryland Hue April 24th, 1862. 

Powers, Wesley, wounded Julv 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Powers, John, died in hospital May, 1863. 

Rolison, John, died in hospital February 7th, 1863, Richmond. 

Rhoner, John, died in hospital July 15th, 1864, Richmond. 

Stewart, Adrian D., wounded July 4th, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Sawyer, Nelson, died in hospital January 20th, 1863, Richmond. 

Savills, Marcus A., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Shirley, John, wounded accidently June 21st, 1863. 

Sawyer, Joseph, died in hospital February 24th, 1863, near Fredericks- 
burg. 

Spaight, Raynor, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Sawyer, Gideon L., died in hospital January 19th, 1863, Richmond. 

Stewart, David H., died in hospital June 29th, 1862, on Appomattox river. 

Sawyer, William J. 

Suggs, George F., wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Turner, Thomas, wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater, died July 31st. 

Waller, Josiah, died in hospital June 15th, 1862. 

Warren, James E., wounded June 22d, 1864, Wilcox Farm. 

Waterfield, Saunders, died in hospital December 31st, 1862, Lynchburg. 

Warren, John. 

Whateley, Leven, transferred to Maryland line February 1st, 1864. 

Whitehurst, David, killed by falling tree in camp November 30th, 1862. 

Wright, William, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Woodward, Litaness. 

Musician Charles Hughes, captured July 5th, 1863. 
Killed and died— 33. 



ii 



CHAPTER XIX. 

JACKSON LIGHT INFANTKY, COMPANY D, SIXTY-FIEST VIRGINIA REG- 
IMENT. 

This company was organized in the City Hall, Portsmouth, on 
the 10th of March, 1862, and elected officers as follews : 

Captain, V. O. Cassell. 

First Lieutenant, John Powers; 2d Lieutenant, Virginius A 
Haynes; 3d Lieutenant, Alex B. Butt. 

I irst Sergeant, J. J. Bilisoly. 

The original idea when the company was organized was to 
make it a heavy artillery company for duty in a regiment which 
was being organized for special services in the fortifications 
around the harbor, but it was furnished with muskets, and the 
evacuation of Portsmouth by the Confederates before the organ- 
ization of the regiment was completed did away with its useful- 
ness as heavy artillerists. Owing to the short period of time 
which elaspsed between the organization of the company and the 
evacuation of Portsmouth, it had a very uneventful history inde- 
pendent of the general history of the regiment of which it formed 
a part. It was on duty at the entrenched camp south of Ports- 
mouth known as the Forrest entrenchments, after Commodore 
Forrest, commanding the Navy Yard, when the city was evac- 
uated. It was then moved to Petersburg, quartered for two or 
three days in that city, and then moved into camp on Dunn's 
Hill. It was with the regiment (the 61st Virginia) as Company 
I) when it was ordered to the Rapidan, in the summer of 1862, 
and participated in all of the battles in which the regiment was 
engaged, a full list of which we be seen in the sketch of the reg- 
iment itself — Chap. XXIY. 

After the 61st regiment became a part of Mahone's Brigade, 
Lieutenant Alex B. Butt was appointed Adjutant of the 41st 
Virginia Regiment of the same brigade, and was mortally wounded 
at the battle of Chancellorsville and died in a hospital. Cap- 
tain V. O. Cassell lost a leg in the same battle and was incapaci- 
tated for further service and retired. This promoted Lieutenant 
John Powers to Captain, and 2d Lieutenant Haynes to 1st Lieu- 
tenant. Orderly Sergeant Julius J. Bilisoly was promoted to 2d 
Lieutenant. Those officers .served throughout the war with the 
command. The company was in several small engagements or 
skirmishes with the enemy in 1862, and was in line of battle at 
Fredericksburg December 13th, 1862, and under a heavy artillery 
fire, but was not actively engaged, as the enemy's attack was 
made upon another portion of the Confederate lines to the right 

154 



JACKSON LIGHT INFANTRY, CO. D, SIXTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 155 

of the position held by them. Chancellorsville was the first bat- 
tle of any magnitude in which it was engaged. In this battle 
Private J. Wiley Howard lost a leg and Private Joseph Barrett 
was wounded. It had two men killed at the Crater fight — John 
Sheppard and John Wood — and surrendered at Appomattox 
April 9th, 1865, with one Lieutenant, one Ordnance Sergeant 
and six privates, all that was left for duty of upwards of sixty 
men who left Portsmouth with the company on the 10th of May, 
1862. More than one fourth were killed or died, and of the re- 
mainder some were wounded and some fell into the hands of the 
enemy and were not exchanged. The following is a list of the 
members of the company who left Portsmouth with it. The list 
of casualties opposite the names of the men has been prepared 
from memory, and some may have been omitted who were recip- 
ients of wounds, but it is probable that all who were killed or 
died have been reported properly : 

Captain V. 0. Cassell, lost leg at Chancellorsville, May 3d, 1863, and retired. 

Captain John Powers, promoted to Captain in 1863. 

First Lieutenant V. A. Haynes. 

Third Lieutenant A. B. Butt, promoted Adjutant 41st Regiment, killed at 
Chancellorsville. 

Second Lieutenant J. J. Bilisoly, promoted from 1st Sergeant. 

Sergeant Jesse Ives, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm, and Febru- 
ary 6th, 1865, Hatcher's Run. 

Sergeant Charles Syer, promoted Color Sergeant 61st Regiment, captured 
August 19th, 1864. 

Sergeant David S. Robertson, discharged 1864, over age. 

Corporal Joshua Denby, wounded July 2d, 1863. Gettysburg, near Peters- 
burg, 1864, and captured the day before the surrender at Appomattox. 

Corporal W. H. Dunstan, died in hospital in 1862, Petersburg. 

PRIVATES. 

Accinelly, B. J., promoted Ordnance Sergeant 61st Virginia Regiment. 

Ashton, Gerdon C. 

Ashby, William. 

Butt, Robert P., died in hospital, 1863. 

Barrett, Joseph, wounded May 3d, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 

Butt, Wesley G., killed February 6th, 1865, Hatcher's Run. 

Barber, George W. 

Chamberlaine, William, died in hospital, 1862, Petersburg. 

Chamberlaine, Thomas, wounded May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania, killed Au- 
gust 19tth, 1864, Davis Farm. 

Coston, William C. 

Coston, Henry C. 

Coston, Thos. J. 

Cherry, Win. Alex, promoted Corporal, wounded August 19th, 1864, and 
died from wound. 

Cooke, Thos. J., wounded May 12th, 1864, and died. 

Cotton, John, Orderly at Colonel's Headquarters. 

Denby, James, wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Davis, John Harrison, with medical corps. 

Flarity, Thomas. 

Flanagan, Edward, died in hospital, 1862. 

Flemming, Malon R., wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Godwin, A. D. B., wounded May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville, 



156 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Hughes, Edward, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Howard, J. Wiley, promoted corporal, lost leg May 12th, 1864, Spotsyl- 
vania. 

Hogg, John. 

Hodges, Josiah, discharged 1862, over age. 

Humphries, John. 

Jordan, Win. Thomas, killed February 6tb, 1865, at Hatcher's Run. 

Jarvis, Thomas. 

Keeling, Joseph, wounded May 3d, 1863, Chancellorsville. 

Lester, A. E., drummer. 

Moore, William, discharged 1862, disability. 

Mathews, Elbert, died in hospital, Petersburg, June 21st,1862. 

Miller, Philip. 

Moore, Wm. J., not heard of after the battle of Chancellorsville. 

Marsh, Ben. 

Mayo, George Washington, died in prison, Fort Delaware. 

Murray, John T. 

Nelson, John, discharged 1862, disability. 

Only, John, died in hospital. 

Only, James, died in hospital. 

Outens, John. 

Only, Thos. E., wounded. 

Pate, Wm., wounded. 

Perry, E. A., detailed as sharpshooter, captured on retreat from Petersburg. 

Parker, George, wounded May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 

Richardson, Benjamin. 

Rutter, Thomas, wounded May 6th, Wilderness, and August 25th, 1864, 
Reams' Station, captured the day before the surrender at Appomattox. 

Reynolds, H. C, wounded Spotsylvania, 2d Cold Harbor, and August 19th, 
1864, captured the day before the surrender at Appomattox. 

Rawson, Charles. 

Singleton, John, wounded Hanover Junction, May 29th, 1864. 

Shepperd, John, killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

White, John, died in hospital. 

White, Tim, died in hospital at Gordonsville. 

Ward, Baker. 

Walker, Win. M. 

Wood, John H., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Williams, Hillary G. 

Walker, Lewis Wilson, wounded May 8th, 1864, Shady Grove. 

Young, George W. 

Killed and died— 16. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE BORDER RIFLES, COMPANY E, SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was organized early in 1862, and was composed 
of about twenty-five of the Norfolk County Rifle Patriots, Com- 
pany F, 41st Virginia, who left that company on the reorganization 
in April, and together with new recruits, formed this company. 
The members were mostly from that portion of Norfolk county 
now known as Washington and Pleasant Grove Magisterial Dis- 
tricts, but there were two men from Deep Creek and eight from 
the city of Portsmouth. The officers of the company at its or- 
ganization, were : 

Captain, Jetson Jett. 

First Lieutenant, L. W. Godfrey ; 2d Lieutenant, "William T. 
Drewry ; 3d Lieutenant, Walter C. Ives. 

First Sergeant, Augustus W. Portlock ; 2d Sergeant, Dennis 
M. Etheredge ; 3d Sergeant, Augustus R. Pitts ; 4th Sergeant, 
Camillus E. Tatem. 

First Corporal, Alonzo Ives ; 2d Corporal, Thomas Williamson ; 
3d Corporal, James M. Wilkins ; 4th Corporal, Curtis O. Ives. 

The company was mustered into the Confederate States service 
at Washington Point, now Berkley, and was quartered for a week 
or two at the Marine Hospital building, when it was assigned to 
the 61st Virginia Regiment as Company E, and ordered to Oak 
Grove, near Portsmouth, and remained there, doing provost duty 
in the city, until the evacuation. On the 10th of May, 1862, it 
was- taken by rail to Petersburg, where the whole of the 61st reg- 
iment was collected, and remained there for two or three weeks, 
when, with Companies B and G, it was ordered to City Point on 
picket duty and remained there until late in August, when the 
regiment was called together on Dunn's Hill, near Petersburg, 
and on the 28th of August started to the front to join the Army 
of Northern Virginia, under General Lee. Upon reaching the 
Rapidan river, Companies E and F were detached from the regi- 
ment for special duty and ordered to report to Staunton. Com- 
pauy E was divided into small squads and stationed in the small 
towns on the Valley turnpike from Staunton to Strausburg. 
Company F was retained in Staunton. In June, 1863, the two 
companies were ordered to rejoin the regiment, which was then 
stationed in the vicinity of Fredericksburg, and after that partici- 
pated in all of the battles in which the regiment was engaged. 
They missed Chancellorsville, but got back in time to join the 
army on its march to Pennsylvania and to take part in the battle 
of Gettysburg, July 2d and 3d, when Company E had its first ex- 

157 



158 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5, 

perience in a general engagement. In this battle Lieutenant 
Walter C. Ives was killed and Lieutenant L. W. Godfrey was 
wounded. On the 12th of May following. Lieutenant W. T. 
Drewry was killed at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. 
After the death of Lieutenant Drewry, Sergeant Griffin F. Ed- 
wards was elected 2d lieutenant, but prefering the position of 
sergeant-major of the regiment, which he then held, he declined 
to accept the lieutenancy. He was subsequently promoted to 
adjutant of the regiment, and held that position from early in 
1865 until the close of the war. Private Wm. F. White, of 
Portsmouth, who was a member of this company, was elected in 
1861 captain of one of the Norfolk city companies in the 6th 
Virginia Kegiment, in Mahone's Brigade. The company lost by 
death from wounds and from sickness, twenty-nine men, while 
thirteen others are reported below as having been severely woun- 
ded. The list of wounded was much larger than this, but as it was 
made up from memory, many were forgotten. While the roster 
is believed to be correct and full as to those who were killed or 
died, it does not profess to include all of those who were wounded. 
This company retained its organization intact until the closing 
scenes of the drama at Appomattox, where it surrendered one 
officer, Captain Jett, and seventeen men. 

The wounding of Adjutant Griffin F. Edwards at Cumberland 
Church on the 7th of April, 1865, was a singular exhibition of 
what some would term hard luck. The brigade (Mahone's) was 
lying down in line of battle, behind a slight breastwork about two 
feet high, which the men had thrown up hastily to protect them- 
selves from the tire of a force of Federal sharp shooters, who, 
from the top of a piece of rising ground about a half a mile off, 
had perfect range of the position. They were armed with globe 
sight rifles and were expert in their use. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Wm. H. Stewart had command of the division picket line and a 
portion of it had been attacked by a heavy force of Federals and 
pushed back. General Weisiger, who commanded Mahone's 
Brigade, and who was at the left of the line, sent for Col. Stewart 
for the purpose of placing a force at his disposal to re-establish 
the line. Colonel Stewart moved over the front of the division 
for nearly a half mile, exposed all the while to the sharp shooters 
who took frequent shots at him, all of which missed. When he 
reached General Weisiger' s position that officer ordered Colonel 
V. D. Groner, commanding the 61st Begiment, to make a detail 
of men, and Colonel Groner called Adjutant Edwards to him and 
repeated the order. While standing up before Colonel Groner, 
and before he could execute the order, one of the sharp shooters 
lodged a ball in his shoulder, which disabled him, and when the 
brigade fell back that night he was left behind. Two days after- 
wards, namely, the 9th, the army surrendered at Appomattox. 



BORDER RIFLES, COMPANY E, SIXTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 159 

Colonel Stewart was standing near Adjutant Edwards when he 
was shot, and though the more and longer exposed of the two, 
escaped unharmed. 

Below will be found a roll of the company, which is as complete 
as it is possible to make it at this late day, but it is believed to 
contain the names of every man who left with the company at the 
evacuation of Portsmouth by the Confederates on the 10th of 
May, 1862. 

The names here following were on the muster roll of the com- 
pany May 31st, 1862 : 

Captain, Jetson Jett. 

First Lieutenant, L. W. Godfrey, wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

Second Lieutenant, Win. Drewry, killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 

Third Lieutenant, Walter C. Ives, killed July 2d, 1863, Gettysburg. 

First Sergeant, Gustavus W. Portlock, wounded August 19th, 1864, Weldon 
railroad, died in hands of enemy. 

First Sergeant, James M. Wilkins. 

Sergeant Dennis M. Etheredge, died in hospital, Staunton, October 17th, 
1862. 

Sergeant Augustus R. Pitt, appointed musician. 

Sergeant Camillus E. Tatem, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Sergeant Alonzo Ives, wounded May 6th, 1864, Wilderness, and Julv 30th, 
1864, Crater. 

Corporal Thos. Williamson, wounded August 19th, 1864, Petersburg and 
Weldon railroad, Davis' Farm. 

Corporal Curtis 0. Ives, wounded August 19th, 1864, Petersburg and Wel- 
don railroad, Davis' Farm. 

Corporal Joshua Charlton, wounded July 30th, Crater. 

Corporal L. W. Charlton. 

PRIVATES. 

Ballance, Martin, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Butt, Andrew, wounded July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg, died in hands of the 

enemy. 
Butt, Thomas, died in hospital 1862. 
Brinkley, Wm. D„ died in hospital 1864. 
Cartwright, Dempsey, killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Charlton, Samuel Q., died in hospital 1862, Staunton. 
Cherry, Absolem. 
Cherry, Richard. 

Corbit, Richard, died in hospital October, 1863, Richmond. 
Creekmore, John W. 

Creekmore, Wesley P., died in hospital 1862, Petersburg. 
Curling, Bartlett. 
Curling, Edmond, wouuded May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania, captured Aug. 

19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 
Cutherell, George, 

Cutherell, Milton, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Cutherell, Wm. E., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Deford, Richard H. 

Dewberry, Wm. T., captured October 27th, Burgess' Mill. 
Edmonds, Luther, appointed musician. 
Edwards, Griffin F., promoted Sergeant-Major November 1863, Adjutant 

February, 1865, wounded April 7th, 1865, Cumberland Church, and left 

on field. 
Etheredge, Frederick, killed May 8th, 1864, Wilderness. 
Etheredge, Isaiah, captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 



160 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Etheredge, John, captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Etheredge, Martin. 

Ferrebe, Grandy, wounded August 19th, 1864, and died in hospital. 

Foreman, John E. 

Foster, James S., captured July 3d, 1864, near Petersburg. 

Gammon, Joshua B., killed August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Gifford, Samuel, killed August 19th. 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Gammon, Alex., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania.. 

Gibson, Wm. M., discharged 1864. 

Grimes, John F. 

Gwynn, Asbury, captured August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Gwynn, Frederick, died in hospital 1864, Richmond. 

Gilbert, Thos., died in hospital May, 1862, Petersburg. 

Hall, Cary W. 

Hall, James S. 

Hewett, M. W., discharged October 27th, 1862, disability. 

Hanbury, Fred. 

Hanbury, Horatis B. 

Hanbury, James C. 

Hodges, Dan'l, died in hospital October, 1 863, Staunton. 

Hozier, Jeremiah E., wounded May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania and 

August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 
Ives, Felix G. 

Jarvis, Alex. A., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Lane, James E., killed June 2d, 1864, Cold Harbor. 
McLean, John A., detailed for serviee in Labratory, Charlotte, N. C. 
McPherson, Peter, killed August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 
Only, Absolem, discharged for disability. 
Only, Alexander, killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Osborne, Raison, wounded May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Ottley, Wm. N., captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 
Owens, Geo. 

Portlock, Thos. E., died in hospital 1863, Staunton. 
Rudd, Wm. D. 

Saunders, Wm. D. B., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Stewart, Thos., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Stokes, James. 
Stokes, Robert. 

Stokes, Wilson F., killed June 22d, 1864, Wilcox's Farm. 
Tatem, Benj. F., promoted Quartermaster Sergeant, 1862. 
Wagner, Lewis. 
Williamson, Chas. C. 

Williamson, Elton, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 
Williamson, Henry, wounded May 12th, 1862, Spotsylvania. 
Wilkins, W. L S., promoted 2d Sergeant. 
White, Wm. F., promoted Captain 6th Virginia Regiment. 
Wilson, -Joseph. 

Wilson, Joshua T., captured August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm, 
Wright, Benj., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Lindon, Mitchel. 

Killed and died— 29. 



CHAPTER XXL 

THE VIRGINIA RANGERS, COMPANY H, SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

In March, 1862, Captain James C. Clioat, formerly captain of 
Company A, 3d Virginia Regiment, and Sergeant John H. 
Wright, formerly of Company I, 9th Virginia Regiment, both of 
Norfolk county, were engaged trying to raise separate companies, 
and finding that the field had been very thoroughly gleaned over 
and that there were few men in the city or county who were not 
already in the Confederate service, concluded to consolidate their 
work and make one company of it. The members of the company 
were part from the city and part from the county near the western 
suburbs and towards Deep Creek. The company organized and 
elected officers on the 26th of March. Those officers were : 

Captain, James C. Clioat. 

First Lieutenant, John H. Wright ; 2d Lieutenant, James F. 
Can* ; 3d Lieutenant, Llenry E. Orr. 

Firs tSergeant, James H. Gleason ; 2d Sergeant, W. W. Rew ; 
3d Sergeant, John Sory. 

The company was immediately mustered into service and as- 
signed to the 61st Virginia Regiment as Company H. A short 
time before the Confederates evacuated Portsmouth Captain 
Choat accidently shot himself in the arm and resigned the com- 
mand of the company to Lieutenant Wright, who was promoted 
to captain. The company left Portsmouth on the 10th of May, 
1862, marched to Suffolk and there took the cars for Petersburg, 
and camped a short time on the heights to the south of that city, 
after which it was moved to Dunn's Hill with the rest of the reg- 
iment. While there Lieutenant Carr was appointed commissary 
of the regiment, but shortly afterwards resigned, and was dis- 
charged upon a surgeon's certificate of disability, and Sergeant 
James H. Grleason was elected lieutenant. The company did 
provost duty in Petersburg until August 28th, when the regiment 
broke camp and marched to Richmond, and from there took the 
cars for Rapidan Station, and assisted in rebuilding the bridge 
over that river, which had been burned. From there the com- 
pany was ordered to Warrenton, and did provost duty until the 
latter part of October, when it was ordered to rejoin the regiment 
and marched to Fredericksburg. After that time the regiment 
was attached to Mahone's Brigade. 

While the company was at Warrenton, Captain Wright received 
an appointment assigning him to other duty and he resigned the 
captaincy of the company. He subsequently enlisted as a private 
in the signal corps. Lieutenant Orr then became captain. Lieu- 

161 



162 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

tenant Gleason was promoted to 1st lieutenant and Sergeant W. 
W. Eew was elected 2d lieutenant. Captain Or commanded the 
company until the close of the war. Lieutenant Gleason was 
severely wounded and disabled at the battle of Spotsylvania 
Court House, May 12th, 1864, and was retired. At the battle of 
the Crater, July 30th, 1861, the company lost very heavily. One 
man was killed, and Lieutenant Iiew and five privates were 
wounded. Lieutenant Rew's wound was very severe, but he re- 
covered in time to rejoin the company and surrendered with it at 
Appomattox Court House, when there were present two commis- 
sioned officers, one sergeant and six privates. The company lost 
very heavily in proportion to its numbers, and participated in all 
of the battles in which the regiment was engaged. Below will be 
found a roll of the company, together with the casualties as far 
as it has been possible for them to be obtained. At this date none 
of the officers who were in actual service with the company are 
living, and the source of information concerning the killed and 
wounded has been narrowed down to very close limits, but the 
roll embraces all who left the county with the company on the 
10th of May, 1862, and the list of casualties is correct as far as it 
goes : 

Captain James 0. Choat, accidently wounded May, 1862, and resigned. 

First Lientenant John H. Wright, promoted Captain, resigned 1862, en- 
listed in Signal Corps. 

Second Lieutenant James F. Carr, appointed Commissary, discharged 1862. 

Third Lieutenant Henry E. Orr, appointed Captain 1862, surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

First Sergeant James A. Gleason, elected 1st Lieutenant, wounded and dis- 
abled May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania, and retired. 

Third Sergeant Joun R. Simmons, promoted 1st Sergeant. 

Fourth Sergeant Washington W. Rew, elected Lieutenant, wounded July 
30th, 1864, Crater. 

Corporal John C. Sorey. 

Corporal Edward L. Mansfield. 

Corporal George Ross. 

Musician John W. Mitchell. 

PRIVATES. 

Aydelott, Henry C, died in hospital 1863, U. S. Ford. 

Adkins, G. B., wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Brittingham, Francis O. 

Ballentine, John. 

Berryman, Ed. F., promoted Sergeant, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' 

Farm. 
Bowden, Wm. 
Grumpier, Solomon B. 

Cherry, Richard J., promoted Sergeant, detached 1864. 
Cherry, Miles, died in hospital 1862, Petersburg. 
Cherry, John. 
Cherry, David. 

Cherry, Paul W., died in hospital 1862, at Petersburg. 
Cooke, Antonio M., wounded Crater, Wilderness and Hatcher's Run. 
Chamberlaine, Willis. 
Culpepper, Franklin J. 



VIRGINIA RANGERS, CO. E, SIXTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 163 

Duke, Francis, killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Eddie, R., wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Foreman, Isaiah, transferred to Company G. 
Foreman, James R., died in hospital. 
Friedlin, Amile C. 
Gallup, John, Sr. 
Gilding, Geo. F. 
Gallagher, Carney. 
Gallagher, Edward, captured. 
Hodges, Thos., promoted Corporal. 
Hodges, William. 

Hozier, John W., made Corporal, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Hodges, John T. 
Halstead, Thos. 

Haynes, John W., promoted Sergeant. 
Harrel, Alexander. 
Johnson, Alonzo. 

Johnson, James H., made Corporal. 
Johnson, John B., captured April 8th, 1865, on retreat. 
Johnson, Lender, made Corporal, detached for service at Danville, 1863. 
Jordan, Wm. 

Lassiter, James, died in hospital, U. S. Ford. 
Miller, Christopher, wounded May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 
Miller, J. F. 

Mansfield, James, killed near Petersburg. 
McNider, Wm. H., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Mansfield, Willoughby, made Corporal, killed May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 
Mears, Thos., lost leg June 22d, 1864, Wilcox Farm. 
McTyre, Robt. W., made Corporal. 
McGlone, J. 

Only, Hollowell, died in Chimborazo Hospital of Pneumonia May, 1863. 
Only, Joseph. 
Robinson, E. 
Taylor, Thos. H. 

Tranham, A. S., wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Turner, Mills. 
Wilkins, Richard. 
White, Geo. T. 

Wyatt, H. T., wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Killed and died— 10. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE BILIS0LY BLUES, COMPANY I, SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

Tins company was organized in Portsmouth June 16th, 1861, 
and contained in its membership quite a number of men from the 
vicinity of Bowers' Hill, in Norfolk comity. The following were 
the officers under whom it was mustered into service : 

Captain, Charles R. McAlpine 

First Lieutenant, Frank W. Armistead ; 2d Lieutenant, John 
Hobday ; 3d Lieutenant, C. W. Murdaugh. 

The company was ordered to Seawell's Point and was attached 
to the 41st Virginia Regiment as Company G. It was on duty 
there until the 29th of April, 1862, when it was detached from the 
41st Regiment and ordered to report to Lieutenant-Colonel Archer 
at Fort Boykin, near Smithfield. On the 27th of May it was or- 
dered to report to the major commanding Battery ISTo. 3, in the 
fortifications around Richmond, and on the 10th of July was 
ordered on provost duty in Richmond city, but was continued on 
that service onlv four days, when, July 14th, it was assigned by order 
of the secretary of war, to the regiment of Colonel Samuel M. 
"Wilson, afterwards the 61st Virginia. On the 20th of July orders 
were received from Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. F. Memeyer, com- 
manding the regiment, to report to him on Dunn's Hill, near 
Petersburg, and on the 21st Captain McAlpine reported with his 
company. The battles around Richmond in June, 1862, took 
place while the company was in the batteries there, but it was not 
ordered in any of them. Upon reaching Dunn's Hill the com- 
pany was given the letter I, as it was the ninth company which 
had been assigned to the regiment. The tenth company was as- 
signed later. The strength of the company then was about fifty- 
nine men. 

At the reorganization of the company in June, 1862, all of the 
old officers except Lieutenant Armistead were re-elected. Lieu- 
tenant Armistead severed his connection with the company and 
enlisted in one of the Nansemond companies in the 13 th Virginia 
Cavalry. Lieutenants Hobday and Murdaugh became respect- 
ively first and second lieutenants, and on the 29th of July, at a 
special election held by order of the Department Commander, 
General French, Frank M. Marchant was elected 3d lieutenant. 

Captain McAlpine was promoted to the position of Major of 
the Regiment May 12th, 1864, and on the same day Lieutenant 
John Hobday was appointed captain. Lieutenants Murdaugh and 
Marchant were each advanced one grade. Lieutenant Murdaugh 
was seriously wounded in the hip at the battle of Chancellorsville 

164 



BILISOLY BLUES, CO. I, SIXTY-FIRST VA. REGT. 165 

or more properly speaking, Salem Church, on the afternoon of 
May 3d, 1863. General Lee had shaken General Hooker from 
his entrenched position near Chancellorsville, and was about to 
sweep down upon him with his whole army, when he received 
news that General Sedgwick, having crossed the Rappahannock 
river at Fredericksburg and captured Marye Heights, was advanc- 
ing in his rear. 

General Lee detached a number of brigades, among them Ma- 
p hone's, to check Sedgwick's further advance, and the two forces 
met at Salem Church. Company I was deployed as skirmishers, 
and while engaging the enemy in front, was fired into from be- 
hind by Semmes' Georgia Brigade. Thus caught between two 
fires, one from the enemy and the other from friends, the position 
of the company was by no means an agreeable one. It was here 
that Lieutenant Murdangh was wounded. He was complimented 
in General Order !N"o. 2S3 from General Lee's headquarters, for 
gallantry on that occasion. The battle was a complete victory for 
the Confederates and only the darkness saved Sedgwick from 
destruction. He made his escape during the night across the 
river. 

Captain Hobday was killed October the 27th, 1864, at the battle 
of Burgess' Mill, and Lieutenant Murdangh was promoted to 
captain. Lieutenant Marchant became 1st lieutenant, and these 
two continued the officers of the company until the close of the 
war. 

The company was quartered on Dunn's Hill, doing provost 
duty in the city of Petersburg from July 21st to August 29th, 
1862, when the regiment moved to the Rapidan river, and was en- 
gaged in guarding the fords of that river against the scouting 
parties of the enemy. Major McAlpine left behind at his deatli, 
some notes and memoranda relating to his company, and among 
others, mentions private Albert Powell, who was conspicuous for 
gallantry at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House May 12th, 
1861, and W. F. Butt, who was mortally wounded there. Lie 
speaks of Private Butt as " a good man and reliable soldier." In 
that battle Mahone's Brigade charged and captured three lines of 
field works. 

Speaking of Captain John Hobday at the battle of Wilcox 
Farm, near Petersburg, he says : " The conspicuous gallantry of 
Captain John Hobday on the 22d of June, 1861, will ever be re- 
membered. It was through his sagacity that the enemy were 
flanked and defeated. With his small command of twenty-one 
men, he passed down the enemy's lines, a distance of two hundred 
yards, and demanded their surrender." Private Charles W. Col- 
lins is thus mentioned by him : " It was through the courage and 
gallantry of Charles W. Collins that Major Charles R. McAlpine's 
life was saved on this occasion. He shot and killed a Federal 



166 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

officer who had a pistol levelled at Major McAlpine's breast, at a 
distance of not more than six feet, and was about to fire at him." 
Private Collins was reported to brigade headquarters for special 
mention for distinguished gallantry at the battle of Shady Grove 
May 8th, 1864, a continuation of the battle of the Wilderness, and 
was killed in the battle of August 19th, 1864, on the Petersburg 
and Weldon railroad, sometimes called the battle of Davis' Farm. 
He was a very gallant boy, was not more than fifteen or sixteen 
years old when he joined the company in Portsmouth in 1861, 
and was the son of Mr. William B. Collins, who lived at the south- 
east corner of Court and Glasgow streets. He was never known 
to shirk duty or to shrink from danger. He was always in the 
front when fighting was going on and passed unscathed through 
twenty-three battles before he received his death wound. Cap- 
tain Hobday too, was as gallant a man as ever lived. 

The company was in twenty-five heavy battles, seven smaller 
engagements, and numerous skirmishes, and lost by death sixteen 
men, one out of every four, while scarcely a man escaped without 
a wound. In an order issued from the headquarters of the regi- 
ment in December, 1863, Colonel Groner said : " Company I, 
though composed of material difficult to control, is under the best 
discipline of any company in the regiment." 

Captain Murdaugh recovered from the wound he received at 
Chancellorsville and rejoined the company in the lines around 
Petersburg, but at the time of the retreat from Petersburg he was 
attending an extra session of the Legislature, of which he had 
been elected a member, and which had been called to try to pro- 
vide means to meet the emergency which was then too apparent 
in the affairs of the South and the State, and could not get back 
to his command in time for the surrender at Appomattox. 

Below will be found the roster of the company, made up from 
the best information at hand. The list of names is correct, and em- 
braces all who went into service with the company at the evacua- 
tion of Portsmouth by the Confederates : 

Captain Charles E. McAlpine, promoted Major, wounded. 

First Lieutenant F. W. Armistead, dropped at reorganization, May, 18G2, 
joined 13th Virginia Cavalry. 

Second Lieutenant John Hobday, Jr., promoted Captain May 12th, 1864, 
wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater, and killed October 27th, 1864, at Bur- 
gess' Mill. 

Third Lieutenant C. W. Murdaugh, promoted Captain October 27th, 1864, 
wounded May 3d, 1863, at Salem Church (Chancellorsville). 

First Sergeant John M. Sherwood, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Second Sergeant Edward C. Shepherd, disabled, detailed for hospital duty. 

Third Sergeant David W. Thornton, detailed to work in government shops. 

Corporal George Oglevi, discharged October, 1861, disability. 

Corporal Calvin L. Peek, promoted Sergeant, captured October 27th, 1864, 
and not exchanged. 

Corporal Charles Evans, wounded May 3d, 1863— Chancellorsville, captured 
August 19th, 1864, and not exchanged. 



B1LIS0LY BLUES, CO. I, SIXTY-FIRST YA, REGT. 167 

Musician Joseph J. Smith, drummer. 

PRIVATES. 

Beaton, Joseph, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Bateman, Jonathan. 

Barcroft, George W., left in hospital in Norfolk sick, May 10th, 1862, and 

never heard from. 
Butt, William T., mortally wounded May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania Court 

House, and died May 24th in Camp Winder Hospital, Richmond. 
Berkley, Lvcurgus, furnished substitute May 6th, 1862, substitute deserted 

May 10th. 
Cooper, Arthur, died in hospital. 

Casey, Klvin K., lost an arm May 6th, 1864, Wilderness. 
Casey, James A. 

Cherry, Elias W., captured July 4th, 1863, Gettysburg, and died in prison. 
Collins, Chas. W., killed August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 
Collins, Thomas, promoted Corporal. 
Curtis, Revel W., killed July 3d, 1863, Gettysburg. 
Dollett, Win. W. 
Duke, Robert. 

Duke, Parker, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Eure, Hillary. 
Eure, Henry. 

Eure, Augustus, over age, furnished substitute October 23d, 1861. 
Ferrill, John, died June, 1862, Battery No. 10. Richmond. 
Fowler, A. J. 
Godwin, Laban T., promoted Sergeant, captured August 19th, 1864, and 

not exchanged. 
Hyslop, Denwood, captured August 19th, 1864, not exchanged. 
Halloway, Joseph. 

Hewlett, Joseph F., captured July 4th, 1863, not exchanged. 
Heckrotte, Oliver. 

Herbert, Joseph T., transferred to 1 5th Virginia Cavalry. 
Horton, Daniel W., sent to hospital September 26th, 1862, and supposed to 

have died. 
Jones, Walter J., promoted Lieutenant in 41st Virginia Regiment, and killed 

May 6, 1864, Wilderness. 
Jackson, Wm. A., furnished substitute April 24th, 1862. 
King, Joseph. 

King, George, captured August 19th, 1864, and not exchanged. 
King, Edward. 
Kilgore, M. P., promoted Sergeant October llth, 1862, killed July 30th, 

1864, Crater. 
Mason, Wm., killed Cumberland Church. April 7th, 1865. 
Miller, John C. 

Manning, S. D., died in hospital September, 1 862, Petersburg. 
Marchant, F. M., promoted 3d Lieutenant July 29th, 1862, promoted 1st 

Lieutenant October 27th, 1864. 
Meares, James E., discharged for disability from wounds. 
Mears, Thomas F., captured May 29th, 1864, not exchanged. 
Nottingham, B. F., died in field hospital, October, 1863, Brandy Station. 
Porter, Thomas. 
Powell, Albert, name published for distinguished gallantry at Spotsylvania 

C. H., May 12th, 1864. 
Peel, Thomas, captured August 19th, 1864, not exchanged. 
Peek, Amnion, captured October 27th, 1864, not exchanged. 
Ribble, Joseph, furnished substitute May 6th, 1862, substitute deserted 

May 10th. 
Rodman, Pierce, discharged September, 1861, disability. 
Sibley, Wm., captured July, 1863, in Pensylvania and never heard from. 



168 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

IS&IB^^^^^^ not ™ } ™^ 

White, Kichard, wounded seriously Julv 30th 18<U o+ + i n 

charged January 9th, 1865, disabled ' 6 Cmter ' dis " 

\Vard, Julius killed July 2d, 1863, Gettysburg 

wll*?' ™ain discharged September, 1861 disability 
Wise, Stephen, died iu hospital, 1863 ' aisaDmt .P- 

i oure, Stephen. 

Killed and died— 20. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

COMPANY K, SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was organized in 1861 in that portion of Nor- 
folk comity known as Ferry Point, now Berkley, and was gotten 
up through the efforts of Captain Herbert. It contained in its 
ranks a number of old men and young boys, but these were soon 
sifted out as not being within the military age and were dis- 
charged. The officers of the company under whom it was mus- 
tered into the Confederate service were : 

Captain, Maximillian Herbert. 

First Lieutenant, Joseph T. Herbert; 2d Lieutenant, Revel I. 
Taylor ; 3d Lieutenant, Maximillian Herbert, Jr. 

First Sergeant; Frank M. Marchant. 

The company was attached to a mixed battalion of four compa- 
nies, some of whom were from Virginia and some from North 
Carolina, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John T. P. 
C. Cohoon, and known as Cohoon's battalion. The command 
does not appear to have been a very efficient one, however, for on 
the 14th of July, 1862, it was ordered to report at Camp Lee, 
near Richmond, for the purpose of being disbanded. The com- 
mander at Camp Lee was directed to discharge such men in the 
battalion as were above or below the legal military age and to re- 
tain the others. The men in Captain Herbert's company were, at 
their own request, assigned in a body to Captain Chas. R. McAl- 
pine's Company, Company I, 61st Virginia Regiment. The four 
commissioned officers were retired and forty-seven men were 
turned over to Captain McAlpine, all of whom were subject to 
military duty. 

Captain Herbert was not satisfied with the order disbanding 
his company, and having obtained from Captain George A. Mar- 
tin, of the St. Bride's Artillery, of Norfolk county, whose com- 
pany exceeded the regulation number, a promise to turn over to 
him enough men to recruit his command up to the standard re- 
quired for a company, he sought an interview with the Secretary 
of War and obtained on order revoking the former order concern- 
ing Cohoon's battalion, so far as it affected his company, and di- 
recting Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer to turn the men over to 
him again. Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer hesitated in obeying the 
order, represented to the Secretary of War that he thought the 
men would be more efficient under Captain McAlpine, and recom- 
mended that they be permitted to remain with him. His recom- 
mendation was disapproved, however, and Captain Herbert got 
his men again. They were re-assigned to him on the 28th of Au- 

12 169 



170 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

gust, 1862, and, having gotten about a dozen recruits from Cap- 
tain Martin, the company was, that day, assigned to the 61st 
Regiment as Company K, thus completing the regiment. While 
the men were in Company I, two of them were discharged for 
physical disability, and one, Sergeant Frank M. Marchant, was 
elected 3d Lieutenant of Company I, so that only forty-four men 
were re-assigned to Captain' Herbert, and of these, Albert Powell 
and Jonathan Bateman were subsequently transferred to Com- 
pany I. Captain Herbert died in Petersburg the 30th of Septem- 
ber, 1862. The three Lieutenants were each advanced one grade, 
and Sergeant John S. Cason was elected 3d Lieutenant. Captain 
Joseph T. Herbert resigned on the 13th of August, 1864, and 
the company remained under command of 1st Lieutenant Taylor 
until the battle of Burgess' Mill, October 27th, 1864, when he was 
captured. Lieutenants Max Herbert, Jr., and Cason were on the 
picket line in front of Bermuda Hundreds when the army fell 
back from Petersburg about the 1st of April, 1865, and fell into 
the hands of the enemy, and First Sergeant James Adams became 
commander of the company on the retreat. Adams was an ex- 
cellent soldier and richly deserved a commission, which, however, 
he never received. 

The company followed the . fortunes of the regiment, partici- 
pated in all of its battles, contributed its share of the regular toll 
of dead and wounded which was paid for victory, and at the sur- 
render of the remnant of the army at Appomattox, had two pri- 
vates left for duty, First Sergeant Adams was captured on the 
retreat the day before the surrender. He had been without any- 
thing to eat for two or three days, and managing to come across 
a little food, he and one of his men stopped to cook it, thinking 
they were far enough in advance of the enemy to do so with 
safety ; but in the midst of the operation they were surprised by 
a body of pursuing cavalry and gathered in. The company was 
a small one and its losses were proportionately heavy. One man out 
of every three who left their homes on the 10th of May, 1862, at 
the evacuation of Norfolk and Portsmouth, paid with their lives 
the penalty of their devotion to their State. 

The following roll is believed to be complete and embraces all 
who were killed or died in hospital,- or were so badly wounded as 
to require them to report to a hospital. Some who received slight 
wounds which did not incapacitate them from duty, are not re- 
corded as having been wounded. The roll embraces the men who 
were transferred to the company by Captain Martin, as well as 
Captain Herbert's original members. 

Captain Max A. Herbert, died ia hospital, September 30th, 1862, Peters- 
burg. 

First Lieutenant Joseph T. Herbert, promoted Captain September 30th, 
1862, wounded May 3d, 18G3, at Chancellorsville, resigned August 13th, 
1864. 



COMPANY K, SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENTT. 171 

Second Lieutenant Revel I. Taylor, promoted First Lieutenant, captured 

October 27th, 1864. Burgess' Mill. 
Third Lieutenant Max A. Herbert, Jr., promoted 2d Lieutenant. 
First Sergeant John S. Cason, promoted 3d Lieutenant. 
Second Sergeant, Littleton D. Reed, captured September 23d, 1863, never 

rejoined the company. 
Third Sergeant Geo. W. Tatem, discharged August 30th, 1862, disability. 
Fourth Sergeant James Adams, promoted 1st Sergeant, captured on retreat 

from Petersburg. 
Corporal Thomas H. Edwards. 
Corporal James Bradley, died in hospital, 1863, Richmond. 

PRIVATES. 

Absolem, Leonard, died in hospital, 1864, Richmond. 

Burfoot, Jesse, captured April 5th, 1865, on retreat from Petersburg. 

Burton, George, sick in hospital, Lynchburg, at the surrender at Appomat- 
tox. 

Bateman, Martin, wounded August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm, reported for 
duty August 31st and captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Bradley, Charles M., discharged for disability June 10th, 1863. 

Bailey, Chas. L., captured April, 1865, on retreat from Petersburg. 

Bean, Frederick, wounded and captured July 3d, 1863, and never rejoined 
the company. 

Dillon, Lee W., captured September 22d, 1863, and never rejoined the com- 
pany. 

Franklin, Peter J., died in hospital March 20th, 1863. 

Fields, John, died in hospital June 14th, 1862, Petersburg. 

Forbes, Simeon, died in hospital 1864, Richmond. 

Flannagan, Andrew, captured April, 1865, on retreat from Petersburg. 

Hozier, David T., died in hospital June 11th, 1862, Petersburg. 

Griggs, Chas. W., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Garress, Isaiah, captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Hozier, Jas. K. P., promoted Corporal, captured on retreat from Peters- 
burg. 

Hitchcock, Malachi, wounded July 30th, 1864. 

Hunter, John B., died in hospital April 10th, 1863, U. S. Ford. 

Halstead, Win. R., discharged 1864. 

Harrison, Thomas, captured April 19th, 1863, and never rejoined the com- 
pany, 

Halstead, Chris., promoted Sergeant, wounded June 22d, 1864, at Wilcox 
Farm, and captured. 

Jackson, Abner, died in hospital June 20th, 1862, Petersburg. 

Jennings, Edward, died in hospital 1864, Richmond. 

Lewton, Wm., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Morris, Wm. H., killed August 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Melson. Levi. 

Mitchel, John. 

Roberts, Wingfield, wounded May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania C. H., cap- 
tured April, 1865, on retreat from Petersburg. 

Sawver, John I., wounded Mav 8th, 1864, Shady Grove, captured October 
27th, 1864. 

Stafford, Richard, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Sykes, Jos. J., died in hospital 1864. 

Stephens, Jos. L., discharged June 22d, 1863. 

Sorey, Evan, wounded June 15th, 1864, Turkey Ridge, surrendered at Ap- 
pomattox. 

Staylor, Thos., wounded May 2d, 1863, Chancellorsville, captured on retreat 
from Petersburg. 

West, Delaware, died in hospital, Richmond, 1862-3. 

Wilson, John, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 



172 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Wilson, Willis, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Wilson, Benj. R. 

Williams, William, captured July 5th, 1863, and never rejoined the com- 
pany. 

Williams, Jordan, died in hospital June 23d, 1864, Richmond. 

AVickings, Jas. J., died in hospital April 10th, 1863, U. S. Ford. 
Killed and died — 17. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT MAHONE's, WEISIGER's 

brigades — Anderson's, mahone's divisions. 

The companies composing this regiment were organized and 
mustered into the Confederate service early in the war, as will be 
seen from the short sketches of each of them which precede this 
chapter, and were on duty in different localities in the vicinity of 
Portsmouth and Norfolk. In the winter of 1861-2, Colonel 
Samuel M. Wilson obtained authority from Governor Letcher to 
raise a regiment of heavy artillery for service in the fortifications 
around the harbor, and at his request, several companies applied 
to be assigned to it, and others were assigned without having made 
application, so that, when Portsmouth was evacuated, May 10th, 
1862, the regiment lacked only two companies of having a full 
complement. Company I was afterwards assigned to it, July 
11th, 1862, and Company K, August 28th, thus making ten com- 
panies. These were : 

Company A, Jackson Grays, of Norfolk county, Captain Wm. 
H. Stewart. 

Company B, Wilson Guards, of Norfolk county, Captain John 
W. M. Hopkins. 

Company C, Blanchard Grays, of Norfolk county, Captain Jno. 
G. Wallace. 

Company D, Jackson Light Infantry, of Portsmouth, Captain 
Y. O. Cassell. 

Company E, Border Pities, of Norfolk county, Captain Jetson 
Jett. 

Company F, , of Isle of Wight county. Captain 

Holland. 

Company G, , of Greenville county, Captain R. 

E. Moseley. 

Company II, Virginia Rangers, of Portsmouth and Norfolk 
county, Captain John H. Wright. 

Company I, Bilisoly Blues, of Portsmouth, Captain Chas. R. 
McAlpine. 

Company K, , of Norfolk county, Captain Max. 

Herbert. 

Company F was partly from Southampton county, and Com- 
pany G contained a few men from Sussex county and also some 
from Northampton county, North Carolina, near the Greenville 
line, and among these latter was Captain Moseley. Companies B 
and C had a number of North Carolinians also, from Currituck 
county, near the Norfolk county line. 

173 



174 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

The officers of the first eight companies held a meeting in Jar- 
rett's Hotel, in Petersburg, about the middle of May, 1862, and 
elected field officers. They were : 

Colonel, Samuel M. Wilson. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. F. Niemeyer. 

Major, Wm. H. Stewart. 

Owing to the evacuation of Portsmouth and Norfolk by the 
Confederates, there was no longer need for the services of the 
regiment as heavy artillery, and it was changed into an infantry 
regiment and numbered the 61st. Colonel Wilson failed to join 
the regiment after it was organized and the command devolved 
on Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer. It remained on Dunn's Hill, 
near Petersburg, doing provost duty in that city and picket duty 
on the Appomattox river as far down as Bermuda Hundreds and 
City Point, until August 28th, when it was ordered to Richmond 
and went into camp on the Brook turnpike. It remained there a 
very short time and early in September it was ordered to the 
Rapidan to guard the fords of that river, while the army of Gen- 
eral Lee was in Maryland. Companies E and F were sent to 
Staunton to do provost duty and did not rejoin the regiment until 
after the battle of Fredericksburg. The other companies were 
distributed at Warrenton, Culpepper, Rappahannock and other 
places. 

Wm. S. Wright, who was then serving as a private in the Old 
Dominion Guard, of Portsmouth, Company K, 9th Virginia Reg- 
iment, was, in the summer of 1862, appointed. Adjutant of the 
61st, and shortly afterwards, while the regiment was at Warren- 
ton, Colonel Virginius D. Groner, of Norfolk city, was elected 
colonel and took command. 

On the 17th of September, Major Stewart, with three compa- 
nies of the regiment and a squadron of cavalry belonging to the 
15th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, was at Bristoe Station on the 
Orange and Alexandria railroad, where he had been ordered for 
the purpose of getting up several locomotives, which had been 
thrown from the track there, during the operations previous to 
the battle of Second Manassas. That day General Birney, who 
commanded the Federal forces near Fairfax Court House, sent an 
officer with a flag of truce, ostensibly to obtain permission to bury 
or remove their dead, who had been killed in the battles of 
August 29th and 30th, but really to ascertain how much of a force 
was there. General Birney made report to the authorities at 
Washington that his "flag of truce met a party of Confederates 
at Bristoe Station, under command of Major Wm. H. Stewart, 
who stated that it would take three days to communicate with his 
general and declined to receive the flag." He further reported 
that " the force there was small and might be surprised and cap- 
tured if he had authority to send a cavalry force against them." 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT 175 

The necessary authority was given him and he made the attempt, 
but Major Stewart had succeeded by that time in getting the lo- 
comotives on the track, and, steam having been gotten up, the 
whole train proved off to the Rapidan, carrying the three compa- 
nies of the 61st Regiment with it. 

In the fall of 1862 a Federal spy, acting under orders from 
General Seigel, went to Staunton, and in his report, dated No- 
vember 13th, says : " Staunton, with its manufactories of boots, 
shoes and clothing for the enemy, its extensive hospital prepara- 
tions for thousands of sick, the general supply depot, the place 
of safe keeping of all the captured Harper's Ferry plunder, is de- 
fended by one company of the 61st Virginia Infantry, twenty- 
four field pieces, and a mixture of cavalry and artillery, though 
small in numbers." This was Company F. Company E was 
doing provost duty on the Valley turnpike. 

Early in November the Secretary of War seems to have become 
alarmed for the safety of Richmond, and on the 5th he sent orders 
to General Lee to send the 61st Virginia Regiment and the Nor- 
folk Light Artillery Blues to that city. General Lee replied on 
the 10th that he had not obeyed the order because he had not 
been able to supply their places on the upper Rappahannock. 

On the 10th of November the three Florida Regiments in Gen- 
eral Roger A. Pryor's Brigade were organized into a separate 
brigade, and placed under command of General Perry, of that 
State, and General Pryor, by order of General Lee, was relieved 
from duty with the army of Northern Virginia and ordered to 
report to the Secretary of War, in Richmond, who, on the 12th, 
issued an order to General Lee to send the 1st and 61st Virginia 
Regiments to Richmond, to be forwarded to Petersburg, as the 
nucleus of a new brigade for General Pryor ; but, having need 
for them on the Rappahannock, General Lee did not comply with 
the order. General Pryor became impatient at the delay in send- 
ing those two regiments to him and wrote to General Lee, No- 
vember 23d, asking that they be sent at once to him, as he wished 
them to operate in the vicinity of the Blackwater river. General 
Lee sent him the following reply : 

Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia, ) 
November 25th, 1892. j 

Brig. Gen. B. A. Pryor, Richmond, Va.: 

General — Your letter of the 23d inst. has been received. I 
regret my inability to detach from this army the two regiments 
you desire to constitute a brigade, to operate on the Blackwater, 
under your command. As far as I am able to judge, troops are 
more wanted here than there, and it might be better to bring the 
troops which it is contemplated to unite with those in question, to 
this army. I regretted, at the time, the breaking up of your for- 



176 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

mer brigade, but you are aware that the circumstances which pro- 
duced it were beyond my control. The 61st Virginia has, in ac- 
cordance with the desire of the colonel of the regiment, been 
attached to Mahone's brigade, which was organized from the sec- 
tion of country from which it came. I hope it will not be long- 
before you will be again in the field, that the country may derive 
the benefit of your zeal and activity. I thought, and still think, 
that your services would be more valuable to the country south of 
James river, after your brigade was dismembered, and that troops 
could be organized in that region sufficient to form your com- 
mand. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient ser- 
vant. R. E. Lee, 

General. 

On the 15th of November General Bnrnside started with his 
army from Warrenton towards Fredericksburg, and General Lee 
ordered the 61st Virginia and the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues 
to that town. The advance of Burnside's army, Sumner's corps, 
reached Falmouth on the afternoon of the 17th, and an attempt 
was made as if to cross the river. According to the official report 
of General Lee it was checked by the 15th Virginia Cavalry, four 
companies of Mississippi infantry and Lewis' battery of light ar- 
tillery. General Sumner says he made no attempt to cross, that 
his batteries drove Lewis' men from their guns, and he was anx- 
ious to cross and take possession of them, but was prevented by 
positive orders from General Burnside. The 61st Regiment 
reached Fredericksburg on the morning of the 18th, and found a 
large force of the enemy on the opposite side of the river. Colo- 
nel Groner, in order to create the impression upon their minds 
that a large Confederate force was present, had large fires built 
all along the heights and burned up nearly every fence rail in the 
vicinity. The ruse was successful and the enemy waited for rein- 
forcements and to establish his communications before attempting 
to cross. In the meantime General Lee's army began to arrive 
from Culpepper and Orange Court House, and continued coming 
in, until he had collected an effective force of 72,564 men for 
duty, including infantry, artillery and cavalry. 

General Lee was apprehensive that Fredericksburg would be 
occupied by the enemy before the 61st Regiment could reach 
there, and gave Colonel Groner orders how to proceed in that 
event. The commander of that cavalry operating on the river 
was ordered to keep Colonel Groner advised as to the movements 
of the enemy so as to guard against surprise. Shortly after the 
army reached Fredericksburg, the 61st Regiment was attached to 
Mahone's Brigade, which was then composed of th3 6th, 12th, 
16th, 41st and 61st Virginia Regiments, and was a part of Ander- 
son's Division. 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 177 

The battle of Fredericksburg took place on the 13th of De- 
cember, 1862, and its details are a part of the history of the 
Avar. On the 12th General Burnside crossed one hundred thou- 
sand men over the river, and on the loth attacked the right of 
General Lee's army, which was drawn up on the range of hills 
overlooking Fredericksburg, and about a mile or a mile and a half 
back from the town. Jackson's corps of three divisions, A. P. 
Hill's, D. H. Hill's and Ewell's — the last under command of Gen- 
eral Early — held the right of the line, and Longstreet's corps held 
the left, arranged in the following order by divisions : Hood on 
the right and joining Jackson's left, next Pickett, next McLaws, 
next Ransom, and next Anderson, with his left resting on the 
river. The 61st Regiment was with Anderson and was exposed 
to the fire of the Federal artillery, but was not actively engaged 
in the battle. The attack on Jackson was repulsed after heavy 
fighting, with loss to the Federals. Then an assault was made 
upon the position held by Ransom's and McLaw's Divisions, but 
it was easily repulsed. The enemy advanced four times and were 
driven back with great slaughter. The attacking columns were 
composed of the 2d corps, General Couch, the 9th, General Wil- 
cox, and three divisions of Hooker's corps. Burnside's loss in the 
battle was 12,321, and that of the Confederates was 4,201, ac- 
cording to General Lee's official report. 

After the battle of Fredericksburg the 61st Regiment remained 
in camp near that town, enjoying rather a quiet time, until the 
latter part of April, 1863, when the Federal army again got into 
motion. General Hooker had been assigned to the command, re- 
lieving General Burnside. He had an army, according to United 
States official reports, present for duty of one hundred and 
twenty thousand infantry and artillery, twelve thousand cavalry, 
and more than four hundred guns. General Lee had previously 
detached Hood's and Pickett's Divisions under Longstreet to Suf- 
folk, and Ransom's Division to North Carolina, in February, and 
had left to oppose Hooker's advance, only fifty-seven thousand 
effectives. General Hooker left about thirty thousand men under 
General Sedgwick in his lines opposite Fredericksburg. These 
consisted of Sedgwick's own corps, the 6th, of twenty-two thou- 
sand men, as per his official report, and Gibbon's Division, of 
Couch's corps, numbering between seven and eight thousand ad- 
ditional, and were designed to mask the real purpose, which was 
to cross the Rappahannock River higher up and turn General 
Lee's left. This movement was successfully accomplished, and 
General Hooker took up a position at Chancellorsville and began 
to fortify it. General Lee left Early's Division and Kershaw's 
Brigade, in all, about nine thousand men at Fredericksburg to 
oppose Sedgwick, and with the remainder of his army amount- 
ing to forty-eight thousand, including the artillery and the cav- 



1 7 8 NORFl V. K COUNTY, ISO 7-5. 

airy of Stewart, drew out of his works and marched to attack 
Hooker's main army. This was on the 1st of May,, and the ad- 
vance oi' the two armies met late in the afternoon near Chancel- 
lorsville. A considerable engagement followed, during which 
Hooker withdrew to the position which he had fortified. The 
next morning General Lee retained McLaw's and Anderson's Di- 
visions to hold Hooker in check in front, and sent Jackson with 
his own corps, composed of the divisions of A. P. Hill, Trimble 
and Rodes, numbering twenty-two thousand men to make a de- 
tour and attack his right flank and rear. While Jackson was 
making his thinking march, Lee drew Hooker's attention from- 
him by feints upon nis front, with McLaw's and Anderson's Di- 
visions. About t! o'clock in the afternoon Jackson got into a po- 
sition to strike, and sending forward Rodes 5 Division, overran the 
Eleventh corps which formed Hooker's right, capturing prisoners, 
o-uns and wagons. Night terminated the battle for that day, and 
Jackson, riding through the Confederate lines with his staff to 
ascertain the position of the enemy, was, in the darkness, mis- 
taken by his own men on his way back, for Federal cavalry, and 
tired upon. He received three wounds, one of which necessitated 
the amputation of his arm, and he died about a week after the 
battle. The next day. May 3d, Stuart took command of Jack- 
son's corps, and extending his right formed a connection with the 
left of Anderson's Division, near the Chancellor House, whereupon 
General Lee ordered a general advance of the whole army and 
Hooker was driven out of his works into a second line, which he 
had constructed across the angle formed by the junction of the 
Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. General Lee was about to 
assault this position when his movements were arrested by news 
from Fredericksburg. Sedgwick had crossed the river at Fred- 
ericksburg, captured Marye Heights from General Early, who fell 
back before him. and was advancing in General Lee's rear to- 
wards Chancellorsville, to assist Hooker. General Lee sent back 
Mahone's Brigade, Wilcox's Brigade, and three of the brigades 
of Mcl.aws' Division, the whole under command of General 
Mcl.aws. to check him. They met near Salem Church and Sedg- 
wick was driven back with a loss of five thousand men. including 
his loss in his attack upon Early. The next day General Early 
joined Mcl.aws and General Lee sent Anderson with his three 
remaining brigades to assist. With these forces the attack was re- 
newed, and Sedgwick, overwhelmingly defeated, was saved from 
total destruction only by the approach of night, under cover of 
which he recrossed the' river at Banks' Ford. This attack was 
made principally by Early's Division which assailed Sedgwick's 
left. 

On the 5th General Lee got his army together again and made 
arrangements ro renew the attack on Hooker on the morning of 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 1 70 

the 6th, but when his skirmishers advanced at day break, they 
found Hooker had decamped across the river, leaving behind his 
wounded, twenty thousand stand of arms and fourteen gims. 
His loss was seventeen thousand one hundred and ninety-seven. 
The Confederate loss was ten thousand two hundred and eighty- 
one. 

The 61st Regiment, as a part of Anderson's Division, was ac- 
tively engaged in every day's lighting and lost heavily. Major 
Stewart, Captain Cassell and Lieutenant Murdaugh were wounded, 
as was also Lieutenant Alex. Butt, of Portsmouth, adjutant of 
the 41st Regiment, who died from his wound. This was the 
first battle of importance in which the 61st was actively engaged. 
It was ready at Fredericksburg, but was not called upon. At 
Chancellorsville the men fought with the steadiness of veterans. 

After Chancellorsville, Genera] Lee began the invasion of Penn- 
sylvania and on the 1st, 2d and 3d of July fought the battle of 
Gettysburg. The 61st Regiment took part in the battle of the 
'2d and was held in reserve on the 3d. It was, however, exposed 
to the fire of the enemy's artillery on that day and lost a number 
of men killed and wounded. It was heavily engaged on the 2d 
and its losses were proportionate. The Confederates were suc- 
cessful in their attacks on the 1st and 2d and the Federals were 
pushed back with heavy losses in killed, wounded and prisoners, 
but in falling back, General Meade secured an advantageous posi- 
tion on the night of the 2d, from which General Lee failed to 
dislodge him. General Lee's losses in the Gettysburg campaign 
amounted to nineteen thousand men, killed, wounded and miss- 
ing. General Meade's w r ere somewhat larger. An account of 
the third day's fighting will be found in the history of the 9th 
Virginia Regiment, earlier in this work — chapter XII. General 
Lee had present for duty at Gettysburg sixty-eight thousand three 
hundred and fifty-two men (of whom fifty-four thousand three 
hundred and fifty-six were infantry) including cavalry and artil- 
tillery and official reports place the Federal army at one hundred 
and five thousand effectives. 

Two days after the battle of Gettysburg, General Lee fell back 
to the Potomac river. His march was slow and deliberate. He 
was anxious for General Meade to attack him. He was not strong 
enough to drive Meade from his fortified position, but was very 
willing to be attacked. He remained on the north bank of the 
Potomac four or five days on account of the swollen condition of 
the river, hoping the enemy would attack him, but, finding he 
would not do so, and unable to remain any longer away from his 
base of supplies, he crossed over into Virginia, followed at a re- 
spectful distance by his antagonist. 

During the fall of 1863 nothing of special importance was done 
on the Rapidan. In October General Lee endeavored to bring 



180 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

about an engagement, and chased Meade into Fairfax county. 
His advance overtook the rear of the retreating force at Bristoe 
Station October 14th, and an engagement ensued, in which the 
Confederates were badly handled by the officers in command on 
the field, and the Federals, Warren's corps, held their ground 
until night, when they retired into Fairfax county. The 61st 
Regiment was present in that affair. It had an opportunity at 
Mine Run the following month to repay the enemy two fold. 
General Lee had detached a portion of his army and General 
Meade thought himself strong enough to whip the remainder, but 
he was checked at Mine Run with the loss of upwards of two 
thousand men, while the Confederate loss was scarcely as many 
hundred. 

After that the army remained in winter quarters near Culpep- 
per Court House until the following May, 1864, when General 
Grant began his overland campaign towards Richmond. With 
an army of one hundred and forty thousand men, of all arms, and 
a wagon train consisting of upwards of four thousand wagons, he 
started out to overwhelm General Lee, who had with him an army 
composed of fifty-two thousand six hundred and twenty-six in- 
fantry, cavalry and artillery. 

Grant crossed the Rapidan May 5th, 1864, and launched his 
army forward into the region called the Wilderness, a thick, 
woody section of country in the northern part of Spotsylvania 
county, well grown up with underbrush and short pines, with a 
view of turning the right flank of Lee's army and compelling his 
retreat towards Richmond. Lee, however, had no idea of retreat- 
ing, but threw Ewell's and A. P. Hill's corps across his front and 
ordered Longstreet, with his two divisions, Hood's and McLaw's, 
to join the army at once. They were camped near Gordonsville. 
Pickett's Division of Longstreet's corps was near Richmond and 
Petersburg. Ewell and Hill attacked the oncoming masses of the 
enemy, drove in their advance brigades and took up positions for 
the battle which it was evident would be fought the next day. 
Anderson's Division, to which the 61st Regiment and Mahone's 
Brigade were attached, had not then come up, and did not reach 
the field until some time after the battle had been joined the 
next day. General Lee formed his line of battle with Hill's corps 
on the right and Ewell's on the left. Longstreet's corps, which 
was expected to arrive during the forenoon, was to form on Hill's 
right, but Grant began his attack on Hill's troops about daybreak, 
before either Anderson or Longstreet had gotten up, and by 
greatly superior numbers, forced Hill's line back. It gave ground 
stubbornly and slowly until about seven o'clock, when the arrival 
of Anderson's Division enabled Hill to successfully resist his as- 
sailants. Hancock commanded that wing of the Federal ^ Army, 
and was reinforced to such an extent that he had under his com- 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 181 

mand more than one half of Grant's forces, but lie made no fur- 
ther headway. Hill held his ground, and soon Longstreet's men 
began to arrive and take position. About noon Longstreet ordered 
an advance of his own and Hill's corps and the Federals were 
beaten back in confusion and completely disorganized. Longstreet 
turned their left and doubled it back upon the center, and was 
preparing a grand movement by which he expected to destroy 
that entire wing of Grant's army. He had sent forward Ma- 
hone's Brigade as a flanking party and advanced, himself at the 
head of Jenkins' South Carolina Brigade, to renew the attack in 
front. His own and Jenkins' staff were mounted, and had with 
them several captured United States flags, and, coming near Ma- 
hone's Brigade, they were mistaken for Federal cavalrymen and 
fired upon. General Jenkins was killed and Longstreet was 
wounded and disabled, while a number of the members of their 
respective staffs were also killed or wounded. This put a stop to 
the flanking movement and the Federals fell back and began 
entrenching themselves, and, after some sharp fighting, the Con- 
federates also began building works. On the left of the Confed- 
erate line, the enemy made several unsuccessful attacks upon 
E well's corps, and, after repulsing these, Ewell turned the right 
of the Federal army, broke completely two of its divisions, and 
captured a number of prisoners. 

Grant made several attempts on the 7th to carry the Confeder- 
ate lines by assault, but without success, and on the night of that 
day drew out of his works and moved off to the left for the pur- 
pose of turning General Lee's right, but upon arriving at Spotsyl- 
vania Court House the next morning, found a portion of General 
Lee's army again posted across his front. An attack on the 
Confederate lines was repulsed and during the day both armies 
were getting into position. Upon the wounding of General 
Longstreet, General Anderson was assigned to the command of 
his corps and General Mahone was promoted to the command 
of Anderson's Division, which, from that time, was known as 
Mahone's Division. 

On the 12th of May was fought the battle of Spotsylvania 
Court House, in which General Lee successfully repulsed every 
effort of General Grant to carry his lines and inflicted on him a 
very heavy punishment. Grant's losses in the two battles of the 
Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, according to his official 
reports, exceeded forty thousand. 

The 61st Virginia Regiment was in the thickest of ' the fight, 
and its loss was severe. Colonel Groner was wounded, as was 
also Major Stewart, and Lieutenant-Colonel jNTiemeyer was killed. 
The fighting was nearly over at the time he was killed. The 
regiment, with the brigade, had charged and carried a line of breast- 
works defended by a thin line of the enemy, and Captain Chas. 



182 NORI< OLE COUNTY, 1861-5. 

R.Mc Alpine, of Company I, had captured a very fine horse, fully 
accoutred. Calling Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer to him he pre- 
sented the horse to him, and as that officer accepted it, and was 
extending his hand to take it a minie ball from the enemy's skir- 
mish line pierced a vital spot in his body and his young life passed 
out to the great unknown. He was just twenty-four years old 
and singularly, had a presentiment that morning that he would be 
killed during the day. He informed Major Stewart of his belief 
that morning and before night his presentiment had become veri- 
fied. His remains were carried to Richmond and interred. The 
funeral ceremonies took place in the Broad Street Methodist 
Church. 

The death of Lieutenant-Colonel JSTiemeyer occasioned the pro- 
motion of Major Wm, H. Stewart to that position and Captain 
Charles R. McAlpine was promoted to Major. In the fall of 1863 
Adjutant Wm. S. Wright died with a congestive chill, and in 
March, 1864, W. A. S. Taylor, of Norfolk, was appointed by 
Colonel Groner to fill the vacancy. 

Grant remained in position in front of Spotsylvania Court 
House until the night of the 20th, when, finding himself power- 
less to force Lee's position, he once more moved off to the left, 
but Lee interposed again between him and Richmond, at Hanover 
Court House and Cold Harbor, and each time took heavy toll. 
There was constant fighting from the 24th of May to the 13th of 
June, in all of which the 6 1st Regiment and Mahone's Brigade 
took part. The principle assault on the Confederate lines at Cold 
Harbor was made on the 3d of June, between daylight and sun- 
rise. Grant ordered an attack all along the lines. The battle 
lasted scarcely ten minutes, and in those ten minutes more than 
thirteen thousand Federal soldiers were killed or w r ounded. The 
Confederate loss barely exceeded one hundred. 

On the 13th General Grant again moved off to the left, but had 
already made his nearest approach to Richmond, and further 
movements in that direction were carrying him away from the 
city. He reached the James river and crossed over on the 15th 
and 16th, at Wilcox's landing, below City Point. Official reports 
from his corps commanders made his losses from the Wilderness 
until he reached James river, more than sixty thousand men, a 
number greater than General Lee's army. 

General Lee reported from Taylorsville on the 24th of May, to 
the Secretary of War, that Mahone had driven three regiments of 
the enemy across the river and captured a stand of colors and a 
number of prisoners, among them an aide of General Ledlie. 

Repeated assaults by the Federals upon the Confederate lines 
in front of Petersburg, from the 15th to the 20th of June, were 
defeated, and each time the assaulting columns suffered severely, 
their total losses amounted to about twelve thousand. On the 



THE SpLTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 183 

20th Grant began regular seige operations. On the 22d he un- 
dertook to extend hi? left, composed of the 2d and 6th corps. * . 
envelop General Lee's right, but Hill's corps attacked them. Ma- 
hone's Brigade, with the 61st Regiment on the right, turned the 
flank of the Federal forces and captured two thousand prisoners, 
fifteen hundred stand of arms, four Blakely guns and eight stand 
of colors. The entire Federal losses that day exceeded four 
thousand, of whom twenty-five hundred were captured. It was 
in this battle that Major McAlpine complimented the skill and 
good judgment of Captain John Hobday, of Portsmouth, 
ante. Chapter XXII. Company I. 61st Virginia,] 

On the 2 3d the brigade had another smart brush with the en- 
emy, in which it carried off a number of prisoners. On the 28t] 
"Wilson's Division of cavalrymen, returning: from a raid against 
the Southside Railroad was headed off at fleams" Station, on the 
Petersburg and Weldon Railroad, and scattered. The Confed- 
erates captured one thousand prisoners, thirteen guns and the 
wagon train of the enemy. 

The 61st Regiment was at the battle of the Crater, July 30th. 
The Federals had excavated a culvert or mine from their lines to 
a point underneath the Confederate works, and placing therein 
two hundred barrels of gun powder, -exploded it about day break. 
The works immediately "at that point were blown into the air and 
the guns and many of the artillerymen were buried beneath the 
falling debris. An attack was made by three divisions of white 
troops. Ledlie's. Potter's and Wilcox's, and one division of col- 
ored troops, composing the whole of Purnside's corps. These 
troops rushed into the breech, but were held in check by the 
Confederate batteries on the right and left of the opening, which 
began playing upon them. Mahone's Division was the nearest 
available force which could be sent to repel the intruders, and 
three of its brigades — Mahone's Virginia, Wright's Georgia and 
Saunders' Alabama — were hurried there. Mahone's and Wright's 
arrived first, and. forming line of battle, with Mahone's on the 
left, advanced to the charge. Wright's men faltered in face of the 
withering volleys which met them and fell back. Later its place 
was taken by Saunders' Brigade, which made a charge and dis- 
lodged the enemy from that portion of the field. The follow- 
ing'account of the charge of Mahone's Brigade, then under com- 
mand of General Weisiger, was written by Lieutenant Colonel 
¥m, H. Stewart, who commanded the 61st Regiment. Colonel 
Groner being absent on account of his wound received at Spot- 
sylvania Court House : 

BATTLE OF THE CRATER BECOLLECTIOXS OF THE EECAPTTE1 - 

THE LLXES SCEXES AXTJ EXCEDEXTS. 

As the wild waves of time rush on, our thoughts now and then 
run back over the rough billows to buried hopes and unfulfilled 



184 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

anticipations, and oft we linger long and lovingly, as if standing 
beside the tomb of a cherished parent. Tims the faithful follower 
of the Southern Cross recalls the proud hopes that led him over 
long and weary marches and in bloody battles. These foot-sore 
journeys and hard contested fields are now bright jewels in his 
life around which the tenderest cords of his heart are closely en- 
twined. They are moments of duty! They are sacred resting 
places for his baffled energies? They are rich mines from which 
the very humblest actor gathers the wealth of an approving con- 
science! He hears no psens by a grateful country — no bounty 
rolls bear his name — yet these are sweet choristers ever chanting 
priceless praises to the zeal and manhood with which he faced 
his foe. The veteran of an hundred battles always points with 
greater pride to one as the crowning glory of the many achieve- 
ments. So the soldiers of Mahone's Old Brigade look upon the 
great battle whic^i I shall here attempt to describe. 

My little fly tent, scarcely large enough for two persons to lie 
side by side, was stretched over a platform of rough boards, ele- 
vated about two feet above the ground, in that little grave yard on 
the Wilcox farm, near Petersburg. I was quietly sleeping within 
it, dreaming, perhaps, -of home and all its dear associations (for 
only a soldier can properly appreciate these), when a deep rum- 
bling sound, that seemed to rend the very earth in twain, startled 
me from my slumbers, and in an instant I beheld a mountain of 
curling smoke ascending towards the heavens. The whole camp 
had been aroused, and all were wondering from whence came this 
mysterious explosion. It was the morning of Saturday, the 30th 
day of July, 1864. The long-talked-of mine had been sprung, a 
battery blown up, and the enemy were already in possession of 
eight hundred yards of our entrenchments. 

Two hundred cannon roared in one accord, as if every lanyard 
had been pulled by the same hand. The grey fog was floating 
over the fields and darkness covered the face of the earth, but 
the first bright streak of dawn was gently lifting the curtain of 
night. 

The fiery crests of the battlements shone out for miles to our 
left, and the nitrous vapors rose in huge billows from each line of 
battle, and sweeping together formed one vast range of gloom. 

The sun rose brilliantly, and the great artillery duel still raged 
in all its grandeur and fury. An occasional shell from a Blakely 
gun would swoop down in our camp and richochet down the line 
to our right, forcing us to hug closely the fortifications. 

Soon after, Captain Tom. Bernard, General Mahone's courier, 
came sweeping up the lines on his white charger to the headquar- 
ters of Brigadier General D. Weisiger. Then the drums com- 
menced rolling off the signals, which were followed by "fall in" 
and hurried roll calls. We were required to drive back the Fed- 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 185 

erals, who were then holding, and within the very gates of the 
city of Petersburg. It was startling news ; but our soldiers fal- 
tered not, and moved off at quick step for the seat of war. 

Wright's Georgia Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hall, and our Virginia Brigade, the latter numbering scarcely 
eight hundred muskets, constituted the force detailed to dislodge 
the enemy, who held the broken lines Math more than fifteen 
thousand men, and these were closely supported by as many 
more. I remember that our regiment, the 61st, did not exceed 
two hundred men, including officers and privates, which I am 
quite sure was the strongest in the two brigades. I suppose we 
had marched the half of a mile when ordered to halt and strip 
off all baggage except ammunition and muskets. We then filed 
to the left a short distance to gain the banks of a small stream in 
order to be protected from the shells of the Federal batteries by 
placing a range of hills between. These the enemy were already 
viewing within four hundred yards with covetous eyes, and mak- 
ing dispositions to attempt their capture, for they were the very 
keys to the invested city. When nearly opposite the portion of 
our works held by the Federal troops, we met several soldiers who 
were in the works at the time of the explosion. Our men began 
ridiculing them for going to the rear, when one of thorn re- 
marked : " Ah, boys, you have hot work ahead — they are negroes, 
and show no quarter." This was the first intimation that we had 
to fight negro troops, and it seemed to infuse the little band with 
impetuous daring, as they pressed onward to the fray. I never 
felt more like fighting in my life. Our comrades had been 
slaughtered in a most inhuman and brutal manner, and slaves 
w r ere trampling over their mangled and bleeding corpses. Re- 
venge must have fired every heart and strung every arm with 
nerves of steel for the herculean task of blood. We filed up a 
ditch, which had been dug for safe ingress and egress to and from 
the earthworks, until we reached the vale between the elevation 
on which the breastworks were located and the one on the banks 
of the little stream just mentioned — within two hundred yards of 
the enemy. The ill-fated battery of six guns which had been de- 
molished by the explosion of eight tons of gun-powder, projected 
from the line of earthworks for the infantry at an acute angle. 
It overlooked the enemy's line of works which were on the 
northeastern slope of the same elevation, distant about one hun- 
dred yards. 

The "Crater," or excavation, caused by the explosion, was 
about twenty-five feet deep, one hundred and fifty feet long and 
fifty feet wide. About seventy-five feet in rear of the support- 
ing earthworks there was a wide ditch with the bank thrown up 
on the side next the fortifications. This was constructed to pro- 
tect parties carrying ammunitions and rations to the troops. Be- 

13 



186 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

tween this irregular and ungraded embankment and the main 
line the troops had constructed numerous caves, in which they 
slept at night to be protected from the mortar shells. The em- 
bankment from the bottom of the ditch was about ten feet high 
and commanded the outer or main line. The space from the out- 
side of the fortifications to the inner edge of the ditch was more 
than one hundred feet wide. 

The " Crater," and the space on both sides for some distance, 
were literally crammed with the enemy's troops. They were five 
lines deep, and must have numbered between fifteen and twenty- 
five thousand men. Their historians admit that their charge was 
made by the whole of the ninth corps, commanded by General 
A. E. Burnside, and that the fifth and a part of the second corps 
were massed in supporting distance. 

Mahone's old Brigade, after being deployed, covered their front 
from the centre of the Crater to their right. Their silken ban- 
ners proudly floating on the breezes, supported by countless bayo- 
nets glistening in the sunlight, might on an ordinary occasion 
have daunted our little band and made them forfeit a trial at 
arms ; but they were desperate and determined, and reckoned not 
the host that confronted them. I recollect counting seven stand- 
ards in front of our regiment alone. Our column was deployed 
in the valley before mentioned, in full view of these hostile thous- 
ands. As the soldiers filed into line, General Mahone walked 
from right to left, commanding the men to reserve their fire until 
they reached the brink of the ditch, and after delivering one vol- 
ley to use the bayonet. Our line was hardly adjusted, and the 
Georgians had not commenced to deploy, when the division of 
negroes, the advance line of the enemy, made an attempt to rise 
from the ditch and charge. Just at that instant General Mahone 
ordered a counter charge. The men rushed forward, officers in 
front, with uncovered heads and waving hats, and grandly and 
beautifully swept onward over the intervening space with muskets 
at trail. The enemy sent in the ranks a storm of bullets, and 
here and there a gallant fellow would fall ; but the files would 
close, still pressing onward, unwavering, into the jaws of death. 

The orders of Major-General Mahone were obeyed to the very 
letter, the brink of the ditch was gained before a musket was dis- 
charged, the cry " No quarter!" greeted us, the one volley re- 
sponded, and the bayonet plied with such irresistible vigor as in- 
sured success in the shortest space of time. Men fell dead in 
heaps, and human gore ran in streams that made the very earth 
mire beneath the tread of the victorious soldiers. The rear ditch 
being ours, the men mounted the rugged embankment and hurled 
their foes from the front line up to the very mouth of the Crater. 
In the meantime, thg Georgia Brigade had charged, but were re- 
pulsed ; and soon after it was re-formed in column of regiments 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 187 

and again charged, but was met by such a withering fire that it 
again recoiled with heavy slaughter. 

Our bloody work was all done so quickly that I had scarcely an 
idea of the time it required to accomplish it, some say it was 
twenty minutes. It was over I am sure about noon, and then for 
the first time we realized the oppression of the scorching rays of 
that July sun, and many almost sank from exhaustion. The bri- 
gade captured fifteen battle flags, and our own regiment owned 
five of the seven that I had counted in its front. How many 
men rallied to each of these captured flags I have no means of 
ascertaining ; but the Ninth Corps had been recently recruited, 
and its regiments must have been well up towards the thousands, 
and from these captured flags alone the reader may form an idea 
of the numbers we had overcome. In that supreme moment, 
when exulting over a great victory, how great I shall leave for 
others to judge, as our eyes fell upon the bleeding comrades 
around us, our hearts sickened within, for more than half our 
members lay dead, dying, wounded and writhing in agonies 
around us. 

The wonderful triumph had been won at the price of the blood 
of the bravest and best and truest. Old Company F, of Norfolk, 
had carried in twelve men, all of whom were killed or wounded. 
The Sixth Regiment, to which it was attached, carried in ninety- 
eight men, and mustered ten for duty at this time. The Sharp- 
shooters carried in eighty men, and sixteen remained for duty. 
Nearly half of our own regiment had fallen, and the 12th, 4Lst and 
16th Regiments suffered in like proportion. Up to this time only 
an inconsiderable number of prisoners had been captured. 

Mention of special acts of bravery would, perhaps, be out of 
place here, for all who ' inarched from that vale crowned them- 
selves heroes, and need no encomiums from my feeble pen. 

During the charge, about fifty yards from the ditch, Captain 
John G. ""Wallace, of Company C, 61st Virginia Regiment, was 
stricken down with a broken thigh. He lay upon his back, refus- 
ing to allow his men to take him from the field till the battle was 
over, waving his hat and urging his men to " go on ; go forward." 

Lieutenant St. Julien Wilson, of the same company, was mor- 
tally wounded, and died the next day. He was a young officer, 
generally admired for his gallant conduct on the field and manly 
christian virtues in camp. 

Captain John T. West, of Company A, encountered two burly 
negroes at the brink of the ditch, and while parrying their thrusts 
with his sword, was bayoneted in his shoulder by one of his own 
men, -who was too eager to assist him. Privates Henry J. Butt, 
Jeremiah Casteen and D. A. Williams, three of the bravest of the 
brave, from the same company, were instantly killed. 

Private John Shepherd, a noble soldier of Company D, was 
slain just before reaching the main line of breastworks. 



ss 



nohfoi.k roFNTY, isci ;, 



Captain W. Scott Sykos, of < lompany F, Forty-first Virginia 
Regiment, wns wounded in fcho shoulder while gallantly loading 
his men. 

Colon ol Harry Williamson, of the Sixth Virginia Rogimont, 
lost an arm 

Captain David Wright, Company IT, Sixth Virginia Rogimont, 
was instantly killed while leading his men. tie liad been pro 
moled from the ranks to eaptainey en account of his gallant and 
meritorious condnet. 

Our townsmen, Judge C. W. Hill and John T. [Till, inombors 
of the same regiment, the Sixth Virginia, woro wounded almost 
;ii the same install I ; the former through the lofl arnij which was 
afterwards amputated, and the latter through the wrist. 

Major W. II. Fthorodgo, of the Forty first Regiment, displayed 
great gallantry, as was always ins custom on the field. As he 
jumped in the ditch, a bravo Federal in the front lino fired through 
the traverse and killed a soldier at Ids side, lie immediately 
dropped his empty niuskol and snatohod another from a cowering 
comrade to kill Major Ethorodgo. At this juncture, the Major, 
with remarkable self-possession, cauglil up two Federals who wore 
crouching in the ditch, and held their heads together between his 
determined opponent, swinging them to and IV<> !<> cover the sight 
of the musket, the Federal doing his best to uncover ii so as to 
iiiiii.iini his friends by his bullet. Peter Gibbs, ^( the Forty first 
Virginia Regiment, Company K, of Petersburg, rushed to the as 
sistance ol the Major, and killed his foe. (<ibbs was a gallant 
soldier, and fought with greal desperation. Il was said al the 

lime that he slew fourteen men thai day. 

Captain W. W. Broadbont, the brave commander of the Sharp 

shooters, was mercilessly murdered, his skull was broken in and 

almost every souare inch <A' his body was perforated with a bayo 
net stab. 

Although our principal task was completed, yet more hoavy 

WOrk remained to he done to fully reestablish our linos. Brigfl 

dier-General Bartlot, with about five hundred men, were cooped 

u | » in the Crater, and their capture was the e row nine; event of I ho 
bloody drama. Our wounded was sent to the fear as fast as pos 
Bible, and alter piling the enemy's dead on each side of the 
trenches, io make a pass way, OUr ranks were closed up in proper 
order. We were then ordered it^ keep up a sharp fire Oil the 
enemy's works in fronl lo keep them close, and 011 the ('rater to 
OUr right to prevent Hart let's escape, as our position commanded 
Ids rear, while Saunders' Alabama Brigade formed in the valley 
and charged. The Alabaiuians made a grand charge under a lor 

rible fire, reaching the crest of the ('rater without faltering, and 
here a short struggle ensued. They tumbled muskets, clubs, clods 

ol earth and cannon balls into I he excaval ion on the heads of the 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 180 

• ■iii'iny wii.li telling effect, This novel warfare, as before stated, 
lasted only a few minutes, when Bartlet ordered up the white 
flag, and aoout five hundred prisoners marched to our rear. The 
negroes among them were very much alarmed, and vociferou ly 
implored for their lives. One old cornfield chap exclaimed: 
u My God, ma»sa, I tiebber pinted a gun at a white man in all my 
life; dem nasty, stinking iankees fotch us here, and we didnt 
wanl t<> come Imh !" 

The appearance of this rough, irregular hole beggars descrip 
fcion. If. was estimated that it contained six hundred bodies. The 
importance of re-construcing this broken line of earthworks a1 
once, prevented the removal of these bodies therefore, they were 
buried as they had fallen, in <>ne, indiscriminate heap. Spades 
were brought in, and the earth thrown from fchesideof theOrater 
until they were covered a sufficient depth, By '•'< o'clock in the 
afternoon all was over, and we, wen-, enjoving a welcome truce. 

The extreme heat of the sun had already caused putrefaction to 
commence, and the bodies in our front and rear, and especially 
the blood soaked earth under our feetin the trenches, exhaled such 
a nauseating smell thai I was forced to abandon my supper, al 
though I had not tasted a morsel of food since the previoui nighl 

There were thousands of captured arms around us, and during 
the night some of our men would shoot ramrods uf, (lie, enemy jn (, 
lor i. lie fun of hearing them whiz. One, that was sent over drew 
from a federal the exclamation, ''■ Greal God ' Johnnie, yon are 
throwing turkey |<ii and stringing us together over here, Stop 
it!" 

A corresponded of one, of the New Vork dailies, writing a de 
geription of this battle from accounts obtained from wounded 
officers, who arrived at Washington on the 2d of August, I ( -i 
uses the following language ! "Often have the Confederate von 
encomiums for valor, but never before did they fighl with such 
uncontrollable desperation, [t appeared as if our troopi //ere, at 
their mercy, fcandmg helple or running in terror and hotdown 
like dogs, No such scene lias been vitne ©d in any battleof the 
war. The charge of the, enemy against the negro troops wa ter 
rillie. Wii.h fearful yells they rushed down against them. 'I he 
negroes at once ran back, breaking through the line of white 
troops in the, re,n,r. Again and again their officers tried to rally 
them. Won I . and blows //ere, useless. They were victims of an 
uncontrollable terror, and human agency could notstop them." 

\e,;<f morning was a bright and beautiful Sabbath, and nothing 
of moment occurred. At least three thousand of the Federal 
dead were still on the field putrifying under the scorching rays of 
the sun. I remember a negro between the lines, who had both 
legs blown off, crawled up to the outside of our works, stuck 
three muskets in the ground, and threw ii small piece of tent 



190 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

cloth over tliem to shelter his head from the hot sunshine. Some 
of our men managed to shove a cup of water to him, which he 
drank, and immediately commenced frothing at the mouth, and 
died in a very short time afterwards. He had lived in this con- 
dition for nearly twenty-four hours. 

On Monday morning a truce was granted, and the Federals 
sent out details to bury their dead between the lines. They dug 
a long ditch, and placed the bodies crosswise, several layers up, 
and refilled the ditch. 

After the Federals had finished burying their dead and were 
moving off, General Mahone noticed that they had left the dirt 
piled high enough for breastworks, midway between the two lines. 
He quickly discerned the danger of this, as it would have af- 
forded shelter for another assaulting column. He stopped the 
burial detail and made them level the ground as they found it- 
General Pendleton, commander of the artillery of General Lee's 
army, was standing near and paid a high compliment to General 
Mahone's foresight. 

The official reports of the various regiments give the losses in 
the brigade as follows, omitting a number of slightly wounded : 

Killed. Wounded. Missing. 

Sixth Regiment, Col. Geo. T. Rogers, commanding. .13 50..... 12 

Twelfth Reg., Major R. H. Jones, commanding 12 26 

Sixteenth Reg., Maj. J. T. Woodhouse, commanding.. 21 18 

Forty-first Reg., Maj. W. H. Etheredge, commanding..l3 31 

Sixty-firstReg.,Lt. Col. W.H.Stewart, commanding.. 19 43 

78 3 68 12 

Total losses— 258. 

General Weisiger, commanding the brigade, was wounded. 
The next battle of importance in which the regiment took part, 
was fought on the 19th of August, on the Petersburg and Wel- 
don Railroad. This battle is sometimes called Davis' Farm and 
sometimes Johnson's Farm, as it took place on both. Warren's 
corps had been advanced to the left to occupy a position on the 
railroad, but was attacked by parts of Mahone's and Heth's Di- 
visions and his works handsomely carried. Twenty-five hundred 
prisoners belonging to Crawford's and Ayers' Divisions were cap- 
tured, among them, Brigadier-General Hays. Mahone's Brigade 
suffered more severely in this battle than in any other in which 
it was engaged. While the main battle was being fought else- 
where, this brigade was detached to check the advance of rein- 
forcements and was placed by General Weisiger in a very disad- 
vantageous position in which it was unnecessarily exposedj and 
its losses were heavy. After it had been badly cut up, General 
Mahone, going to that part of the field, ordered it to fall back to 
a better position. It accomplished the object, however, of pre- 
venting the reinforcements getting up in time. The 61st Regi- 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 191 

meiit carried nineteen officers, fifteen ambulance corps and one 
hundred and fifty enlisted men to the fight, of whom seven were 
killed, fifty-five wounded and fourteen missing. Total, seventy- 
six. 

On the 25th the 61st Regiment took part in the defeat of Han- 
cock's corps at Reams' Station, in which battle Hancock lost 
about three thousand men, of whom seventeen hundred were 
captured, with twelve guns and numerous standards. 

On the 17th of December Grant sent a large force of infantry, 
cavalry and artillery to destroy the Petersburg and Wei don 
Railroad south of Reams' Station ; but upon reaching Hicksford 
December 9th, it was driven back by a Confederate force, among 
whom was the 61st Regiment. 

It participated in the battles of Burgess' Mill, October 27th, 
1864; Hatcher's Run, February 6th, 1865; Amelia Court House, 
April 5th ; Cumberland Church, April 7th, and surrendered at 
Appomattox April 9th. One Colonel, one Lieutenant-Colonel, 
three non-commissioned staff, three Captains, two 1st and four 
2d Lieutenants, thirteen Sergeants, ten Corporals, seventy-eight 
privates, two musicians and one teamster. Total, one hundred 
and eighteen. 

Below will be found their names. 

Colonel — Virginius D. Groner. 

Lieutenant-Colonel — Wm. H. Stewart. 

Captain — Alex. E. Etheredge, Assistant Quarter Master. 

Hospital Steward — Henry S. Etheredge. 

Ordnance Sergeant — Bartholomew J. Accinelly. 

Quarter Master Sergeant — Benjamin T. Tatem. 

COMPANY A SERGEANTS. 

W. R. Dudley, Wm. A. West, Thos. H. Sykes. 

CORPORALS. 

J. N. Wood, W. H. Harrison, Leroy M. West. 

PRIVATES. 

Columbus C.Cooper, Alex. O. Lee, Simon Mathias, 

J. H. Miller, T. E. Halstead, L, Miller, 

J. J. Miller, Josephus Scott, E. Sivills. 

COMPANY B. 

Second Lieutenant — James A. Stott. 

SERGEANTS. 

W. D. Barnard, F. H. Williams, T. Williams. 

First Corporal — J. Beasley. 

PRIVATES. 

Jacob A. Aydlott, W. A. Cooper, A. Fanshaw, 

F. F. Hall, T. W. Hodges, R. Smith, 

A. Stewart, C. W. Wicker. 



192 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

COMPANY C PRIVATES. 

J. M. Banks, S. K. Cox, K. Bradley, 

G. W. Eason, J. W. Lnpton, W. Powers. 

COMPANY D. 

Second Lieutenant, Julius J. Bilisoly. 

PRIVATES. 

J. H. Davis, W. C. Costen, A. D. B. Godwin, 

Benj. March, Thos. Only, G. Parker. 

Teamster, Alex. E. Lester. 

COMPANY E. 

Captain, Jetson Jett. 

SERGEANTS. 

J. M. Wilkins, W. L. S. Wilkins, A. Ives. 

CORPORALS. 

Joshua Charlton, Littleton Charlton. 

Musician, L. E. Edmonds. 

PRIVATES. 

M. Ballance, Milton Cutherell, M. Etheredge, 

J. E. Foreman, J. F. Grimes, C. W. Hall, 

J. S. Hall, F. G. Ives, Geo. Owens, 

W. D. Rudd, Chas. C. Williamson. 

COMPANY F. 

First Lieutenant, P. P. Owens. 
First Sergeant, J. J. Anderson. 

CORPORALS. 

W. H. Beale, W. B. Holland. 

PRIVATES. 

J. Beale, S. Carr, L. Carr, 

W. W. Corbitt, B. D. Council, J. Eley, 

J. M. Eley, T. Hayes, W. Joyner, 

J. Johnson, J. H. Moundfield. 

COMPANY G. 

Captain, P. E. Moseley. 

First Lieut., W. F. Baugh, Second Lieut., J. M. Perkins. 

First Sergeant, P. F. Howell. 

Corporal, G. W. Collins. 

PRIVATES. 

K. Cobb, P. H. Cobb, A, Hawkins, 

W. A. Harrison, A. Ivey, P. Lee, 

J Mulder, J. S. Nicholson, E. Reese, 

T. Tudor. 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 193 

COMPANY H. 

Captain, Henry E. Orr. 
Second Lieutenant, W. W. Rew. 
First Sergeant, E. F. Berryman. 

PRIVATES. 

A. Harrell, Tlios. Hodges, J. F. Miller, 

J. M. McGlone, E. Robinson, Mills Turner. 

COMPANY I. 

First Sergeant, Jno. M. Sherwood. 
Corporal, Thomas Collins. 
Musician, Joseph J. Smith. 

PRIVATES. 

Jos. Beaton, ¥m. W. Dollett, Robt. Duke, 

A. J. Fowler, Joseph Holloway, Edward King, 

Albert Powell, Jos. Tompkins." 

COMPANY K PRIVATES. 

Richard Stafford, E. Sorey. 

At the battle of Cumberland Church, Mahone's Division and 
General G. T. Anderson's Brigade of Georgians, surrounded a 
Federal brigade in a ravine and captured the whole brigade, with 
their colors, and marched them to Appomattox Court House, 
where, upon learning that the army was about to be surrendered, 
they asked General Mahone to give them their colors back again, 
as it was a matter of pride with the regiments to have them at the 
close of the war. General Mahone complied with their request, 
and after the surrender of General Lee they were released. 

Major McAlpine, after being with the regiment in all of its 
toils and triumphs, resigned January 25th, 1865, to raise a battal- 
ion of Partizan Rangers. A misunderstanding with General 
Weisiger was the prime cause of his leaving the regiment. Ad- 
jutant W. A. S. Taylor resigned in February, 1865, and Sergeant- 
Major Griffin F. Edwards was promoted to that position. He 
was severely wounded at Cumberland Church, April 7th, and left 
behind on the retreat to Appomattox Court House. 

The 61st Virginia was one of the best regiments in the army of 
Northern Virginia, and made a record second to none other that 
fought beneath its banners. 

Lieutenant J. M. Perkins, of Company G, served faithfully 
with his company throughout the war without having received a 
wound, and surrendered at Appomattox. After the surrender he 
started for his home in Surry county, and in attempting to f Ord a 
stream near Hicksford, almost within sight of his home, was 
swept under by the current and drowned. 

The regiment participated in the following battles, besides nu- 
merous skirmishes : 



194 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Catlett Station, Sept. 29th, '62, Atlee Station, June 1st, 1864, 

Fredericksburg, Dee. 11th, 12th, Cold Harbor, June 2d and 3d, 

and 13th, 1862, 1864, 

Zoah's Church, April 30th, '63,- Turkey Eidge, (skirmishing) 
McCarthy's Farm, May 1st, 63, June 4th to 13th, 1864, 

Chancellorsville, May 2d and Frazier's Farm, June 13th, '64, 

3d, 1863, Wilcox Farm, June 22d, 1864,- 

Salem Church, May 3d, 1862, Gurley House, June 23d, 1864, 

Gettysburg, July " 2d and 3d, Crater, July 30th, 1864, 

1863, Davis' Farm, Aug. 19th, 1864, 
Bristoe Station, Oct. 14th, '63,. Reams Station, Aug. 25th, '64, 
Mine Run, Dec. 2d, 1863, Burgess' Mill, Oct. "27th, 1864, 
Wilderness, May 6th, 1864, Hicksford, Dec. 9th, 1864, 
Shady Grove, May 8th, 1864, Hatcher's Run, Feb. 6th, 1865, 
Spotsylvania C. H., May 12th, Amelia C. H., April 5th, 1865, 

1864, Cumberland Church, April 7th, 
North Anna River, May 21st 1865, 

to 23d, 1864, Appomattox C. H., April 9th, 

Hanover C. H., May 28th and 1865. 

29th, 1864, 

The regiment was also engaged in the following battles with the 
Federal Cavalry : 

Rappahannock Bridge, Nov. 7th, 1862, 

Hagerstown, July 6th to 11th, 1863, 

Culpepper or Brandy Station, Aug. 1st, 1863, 

Reams' Station, June 27th, 1864. 

GENERAL MAHONE's REPORT OF CHANCELLORSVILLE BATTLE. 



Headquarters Mahone's Brigade, Anderson's Division, ) 

May 27th, 1863. j 

Major — I D eg leave to report the operations of this brigade in 
the late battles of the Rappahannock. It is proper to premise 
that this brigade, with that of General Posey, had been stationed 
near the United States ford for the purpose of defending that 
crossing of the Rappahannock. 

On "Wednesday, April 29th, it was reported to me that the 
enemy had made his appearance in force at the Germanna and 
Ely's crossings of the Rapidan. This appearance of the enemy on 
our flank and rear, rendered our position at the United States ford 
no longer tenable, and, with a view to checking his advance on 
the flank of our army, as was now clearly discovered to be his 
aim, the two brigades — General Posey's and mine — were immedi- 
ately placed in position near Chancellorsville, so as to cover the 
roads from Germanna and Ely's crossings of the Rapidan and that 
of the United States ford, uniting at Chancellorsville. In the 
meantime our camps, stores, equipage, transportation and such, 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 195 

were sent to the rear and without any material loss of anj of 
them. 

The brigades occupied their positions at Chancellorsville as in- 
dicated, until next morning, (Thursday, the 30th inst.) when, 
under the direction of the Major-General commanding the divi- 
sion, (who had happily joined us during the night) they fell back 
to the United States Mine road, this brigade at and covering the 
crossing of that road by the old turnpike. Before leaving our 
position at Chancellorsville, however, the enemy's cavalry advance 
on the Ely's ford road had made its appearance, and after a pre- 
cipitate advance upon our pickets (capturing several) he subse- 
quently came upon our rear guard — the 12th Virginia Infantry, 
Lieutenant-Colonel E. M. Field commanding — was repulsed, and 
so effectually as to leave us free from any further annoyance dur- 
ing the change of position to which I have already referred, and 
then in process of execution. Shortly after we had taken up our 
new position at the intersection of the mine and turnpike roads, 
the enemy came down the turnpike in considerable force of cav- 
alry and infantry, but nothing occurred at this point beyond a 
little skirmishing with the sharpshooters and reconnoitering 
parties. 

The next day (Friday, May 1st,) this brigade led on the turn- 
pike road in the general advance of our forces, and very shortly 
engaged the enemy under General Sykes, when we had quite a 
brisk little engagement, infantry and artillery, Major-General 
McLaws commanding. The enemy (United States regulars, many 
of whom we captured) was promptly repulsed, and our line of 
battle, now formed, was moved rapidly forward to a point on the 
turnpike south of Chancellorsville, about 1-j miles, known as 
McGee's. This brigade continued here with Major-General 
McLaw's force, confronting the enemy's line of battle in that 
quarter until the next day, when it was transferred, and occupied 
our front line, immediately on the left of the plank road. In this 
position we continued up {p the fall of Chancellorsville, engaging 
the enemy more or less warmly as the progress of General Jack- 
son's operations on his flank and rear seemed to call for, and as the 
range of his (General Jackson's) enfilading fire would allow. It 
was during this service of the brigade that the advance line of 
skirmishers of the 6th Virginia Infantry (Colonel George T. Rog- 
ers) under the immediate command of Captain W. Carter Wil- 
liams, charged over the enemy's abatis, near the plank road, fired 
upon him in his rifle pits, captured there prisoners from four dif- 
ferent regiments, and the colors and color-bearer of the 107th 
Ohio, returning to his position with his handful of men, with the 
loss of an officer as prisoner. This gallant and successful sortie 
was made a little after dark Saturday, May 2d, when General 
Jackson's fire was heavy, and it was in fighting over the same 



196 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

ground the next morning that the valliant "Williams fell, mortally 
wounded. The standard, a most elegantly finished work, was 
duly delivered. 

Immediately following the fall of Chancellorsville, this brigade 
was sent, with a brigade of Major-General McLaw's Division, to 
look after the enemy, then reported to be advancing up the plank 
road from Fredericksburg, under General Sedgwick. Meeting 
General Wilcox with his brigade, about the divergence of the 
plank and turnpike roads, and finding that the enemy was really 
and rapidly advancing, it was at once determined to meet him at 
Salem Church. At this point, possessing the advantage of ground, 
our line was formed. 

In the meantime, Major-General McLaws had joined us with 
the balance of his division. My brigade, in the spirited light at 
this place, occupied the extreme left of the line, lying wholly in 
the woods, and participated in the successful resistance made to 
the enemy's very determined eifort to break our line at that point. 
Upon the conclusion of this battle, (Tuesday, May 5th) the brigade 
joined its division. The conduct of the officers and men (in brav- 
ing the hardships and privations attending eight consecutive days 
of exposure and excitement, as well as in battles) deserve high 
commendation, and at least this acknowledgment at my hands. 

The 12th Virginia, Lieutenant-Colonel E. M. Field command- 
ing, for its rigid and efficient resistance of the superior force of 
enemy while covering the formation of our line of battle on the 
turnpike, Friday, May 1st ; the 6th Virginia, Colonel George T. 
Rogers commanding, for its vigorous pressure and bold sorties 
upon the enemy and his works around Chancellorsville Saturday 
and Sunday, May 2d and 3d, for its veteran-like behavior at Salem 
Church, receiving without disorder, the enemy's sudden lire, while 
moving by the flank, and the 61st Virginia, Colonel V. D. Gro- 
ner, for its gallant and successful skirmish with the enemy during 
the formation of our lines at Salem Church, deserve special men- 
tion, while the part borne by the 16th Virginia, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Richard O. Whitehead commanding, and the 41st Vir- 
ginia, Colonel William Allen Parham commanding, was every 
where, though less ardrous, well and bravely performed. In this 
connection it is but due that I should record here my high appre- 
ciation of the efficient and gallant conduct of the staff officers with 
me — Captain R. Taylor, Assistant Adjutant-General, and First 
Lieutenant Richard Walke, Ordnance Officer. 

Among the gallant spirits who were seriously wounded, Captain 
Robert R. Banks, Company E, 12th Virginia Infantry, must be 
mentioned. He fell among the foremost in the skirmish fight of 
his regiment on the turnpike, May 1st, and was, at that time, 
commanding an advance guard. His conduct on this occasion 
was beautifully heroic. The number of prisoners taken by the 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 197 

brigade was large, but cannot be accurately stated, owing to the 
hurried and detached manner in which they had to be sent to the 
rear. The casualties of the brigade in all of these battles were as 
follows : 

Killed Wounded Missing Total 

Sixth Virginia Infantry 8 83 6 47 

Twelfth Virginia Infantry 5 31 50 86 

Sixteenth Virginia Infantry 1 17 18 

Forty-first Virginia Infantry 6 23 29 

Sixty-first Virginia Infantry 4 30 3 37 

Detail bridge building, Germanna 38 38 

Total 24 134 97 255 

I am, major, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Wm. Mahone, 

Brigadier General. 
Major Thos. S. Mills, A. A. A. G., Anderson's Division, 
1st Corps, Army Northern Virginia. 



General R. H. Anderson, commanding the division, in his report 
says : " It would be doing an injustice to Brigadier General Ma- 
hone, to omit to mention his bold', skillful and successful manage- 
ment, so well seconded by his brave Virginians." He also says : 
" Major William C. Wingfield, chief commissary of the division, 
rendered valuable service by careful and unremitting attention to 
his duties." 

THE WOUNDING OF GENERAL LONGSTREET. 

Colonel Virginius D. Groner, colonel of the 61st Virginia Reg- 
iment, Mahone's Brigade, has furnished the writer with an ac- 
count of the wounding of General Longstreet in the battle of the 
Wilderness, which, as it differs somewhat from the usually ac- 
cepted theory of that unfortunate occurence, is here added. 
Colonel Groner says Mahone's Brigade was on the extreme right 
of Longstreet's line when it advanced and drove the enemy from 
its front in utter confusion. That the brigade was formed with 
the 6th Regiment on the left, then the 16th, then the 61st, then 
the 41st and the 12th on the right. That in order to turn the 
flank of the enemy the brigade was ordered to make a left turn, 
the regiments following each other in eschelon. After moving 
some distance in this manner through the woods, which were on 
fire and strewn thickly with dead and wounded men, the 12th 
Regiment became separated from the rest of the brigade, so that 
the 41st, which was next to it, became uncovered on its right. 
This was communicated to Colonel Groner, who halted that regi- 
ment and his own and reported to General Mahone that the 12th 
Regiment could not be found. General Mahone then approved 
of his halting the 41st and 61st Regiments, and ordered him to 



198 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5 

look for the 12th. When the 16th and 6th Regiments got up on 
the line with the two other regiments, they halted also. Colonel 
Groner says the line, thus formed, was about seventy-five yards 
from the road in which General Longstreet was wounded, and 
that the smoke from the burning woods and the underbrush was 
so dense that it would have been impossible to have seen that dis- 
tance through them. He moved across the road and found the 
12th Regiment coming back. That regiment had crossed the 
road, but finding that it had advanced too fast and was alone 
there, had started back to rejoin the brigade, and on its return it 
was mistaken by the 41st for the enemy and fired into. He says 
as soon as the 41st Regiment began firing, the regiments to the 
left of it took it up, and there was a general fusilade from the 
whole brigade, and that General Longstreet's party were in front 
of the position held by the 16th and 6th Regiments, and he was 
struck by the random firing of one of those regiments. He fur- 
ther says that when he crossed the road to rejoin his regiment, 
after finding the 12th Regiment, he noticed the party of horse- 
men coming up, but is satisfied that, on account of the thickness 
of the undergrowth in the woods and the dense smoke from the 
burning leaves, they were not visible from the position occupied 
by the brigade. 

ANOTHER ACCOUNT. 

Captain John T. West, of Company A, 61st Virginia Regiment, 
has furnished the author with his recollections of the affair, which 
differ quite materially from Colonel Groner's. Captain West 
says : 

" On the morning of May 6th, 1864, I was in charge of a section 
of Mahone's Sharpshooters battalion, commanded by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Field, of the 12th Virginia. We were deployed in the 
dense forest of the Wilderness, considerably in advance of the 
brigade (Mahone's.) 

By order of Colonel Field, I had just examined, with a scout- 
ing party, the woods in our immediate front, and reported that a 
brigade of our men had just marched to the left, leaving the front 
uncovered, with the enemy a short distance in advance. At this 
moment a shot from a single musket came crashing through the 
brain of the gallant and daring Acelius G. Foreman, of Company 
A, 61st Virginia. Immediately the order forward ran along the 
line, and in a few minutes, the brigade coming up at a double 
quick, the battle was joined, the Federal line broken and driven 
from its position, retreated in disorder. Then followed a running 
fight for a mile or more, when the Federals were driven into 
corral beyond the plank road. Just as the left of our brigade had 
reached, and in part crossed this road, it was ordered to halt and 
firing; ceased. At this moment the left of the 61st Virginia rested 



'& 



on or near the road which cut through our line, passing to the 



THE SIXTY-FIRST VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 199 

right and front at an angle of 30 or 40 degrees, and thus so re- 
ceeding from our line of battle, that the regiments to the right of 
the 01st could not see, and in all probability did not know that a 
road was in their front. 

In a very short time after the halt, General Longstreet and 
staff, with General Jenkins and brigade, passed to the front, along 
this road, obliquely to our right. The writer and all that portion 
of our brigade near the road, saw* the movement and understood 
it, but the regiments on the right further in the forest and in rear 
of the road, did not see it or know that fresh troops were being 
marched to their front, hence, when some of the men of one of 
these regiments saw indistinctly through the forest the waving of 
the colors of Jenkins' Brigade, and the gleaming of muskets, they 
very naturally supposed that the Federals, who had just retreated 
in that direction, had rallied and were returning to renew the 
battle, and unfortunately, at once opened fire. The firing rapidly 
extended through several companies, and was only stopped by 
Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Stewart and Captain W. C. Wallace, 
who ran rapidly forward, calling out, " Cease firing, you are 
shooting down your own men." Only one volley was fired, but 
alas, Longstreet was disabled, Jenkins and many officers and men 
killed and an end put to a pursuit Mdiich possibly would have 
proved a route to Grant's Army." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

IN OUTSIDE COMMANDS. 

The following Portsmouth men were in companies from 
other localities. There were probably others but they have 
passed out of memory, and there are no muster rolls by which it 
can be refreshed. The list of wounded is correct as far as it 
goes, but probably many were wounded who are not so credited 
here : 

Adams, Charles S., private, Signal Corps. 

Ashton. R. N., private, Company K, 5th Virginia Cavalry. 

Ashton, John C, private, Norfolk Light Artillery Blues. 

Allen, Wm. A., private, Harbor Guard, transferred to artillery and lost a 
leg at Newberne, N. C. 

Brown, John B., private, N. L. A. Blues, appointed engineer in Navy. 

Brown, Henry C, private, N. L. A. Blues, detailed to work for navy. 

Backus, Wm. T., private, Company I, 18th Virginia Cavalry. 

Binford, James M., sergeant, Company C, 23d Virginia Cavalry. 

Barrett, T. S., Ordnance Department. 

Boutwell, L. Warrington, private, Huger Battery. 

Brinkley, W. D., private, Company E, 61st Virginia Regiment, died in hos- 
pital. 

Briggs, Wm., C. S. Navy. 

Brockett, Wm., private, Company H, 12th Virginia Regiment, appointed 
engineer in navy. 

Busby, AV. A., private, Company I, 9th Virginia Regiment, wounded at 
Suffolk. 

Bratt, Mark, private, 2d North Carolina Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Wil- 
liams. 

Butt, Channing M., private Signal Corps. 

Bingiey, Wm. H., private, Signal Corps, died in hospital 1864. 

Ballance, John, private Company D, 6th Y&. Regt., died in hospital Sept. 
1st, 1862, at Salem. 

Blamire, James A., hospital steward, 19th street, Richmond. 

Belote, Smith, Company H, 16th Virginia Regiment. 

Cooke, Wm. G., private, 4th Virginia Battalion. 

Crow, Charles, lieutenant, Purcell Battery, Richmond. 

Crow, Benj. M., sergeant, 1st Virginia Regiment, wounded August, 1862, at 
Cedar Mountain. 

Clarke, W. H., pilot, C. S. Navy, killed in fight between the Merrimac and 
Monitor. 

Curlin, Ashwell, private. Company A, 61st Virginia Regiment, killed Wilcox 
Farm. 

Cherry, Virginius, seaman, C. S. Navy. 

Cone, Edward, seaman, C. S. Navy. 

Culpepper, Joseph S., private, Signal Corps. 

Dilworth, John R., private, Signal Corps. 

Denson, C. B., captain, Company E, 10th N. C. Regiment. 

Dunn, Wm. H., private, Norfolk Light Artillery Blues. 

Diggs, C. C, private, Company A, 3d Georgia Regiment, wounded July 1st, 
1862, Malvern Hill. 

Dockerty, Wm., private, Company I, 13th Virginia Cavalry. 

Denson, Jos. E,, private, Company E., 10th N. C. Regiment. 

200 



IN OUTSIDE COMMANDS. 201 

Day, John H., private, N. L. A. Blues, wounded May 3d, 1863, Chaneellors- 
ville. 

Deconian, John, private, Company C, 61st Va. Regiment. 

Dunn, J. Tlios., private, Company F, 41st Va. Regiment. 

Diggs, Benj. H., private, Company A, 61st Va. Regiment. 

Downing, Charles W., captain, Cohoon's Battalion. 

Doyle, Nathan, private, Company C, 6th Virginia, captured at Gettysburg. 

Elliott, Thos., private, Norfolk Light Artillery Blues. 

Emmerson, John, corporal, Signal Corps, promoted to captain and A. C. S. 

Elliott. John W., private Company D, 6th Virginia, captured at Gettys- 
burg. 

Frestine, J. E., private Ludlow's Company, Norfolk, Company D, 6th Vir- 
ginia. 

Ford, Win., private, Upshur's Cavalry Company, 13th Virginia. 

Godfrey, W. J., private, Company I, 38th Va. Regiment. 

Grant, Frank H., private, Compa,ny B, ( .)th Va. Begiment. 

Grimes, Geo. W., lieutenant, Company G, 17th, N. C. Regiment. 

Gray, James, seaman, C. S. Navy. 

Gallagher, Edward, private, Company H, 61st Va. Regiment. 

Gaffney, Lawrence, private, Company C. 1st Va. Regiment. 

Griffin, Randolph, private, Company C, 3d Georgia Regiment. 

Godwin, E. C, private, Signal Corps. 

Holt, Win., private, Stuart's Cavalry, wounded in arm. 

Hope, A. M., private, Company H, 5th Va. Cavalry. 

Hudgins, R. K., captain, Ordnance Department. 

Hudgins, R. D., private, Company A, 3d Va. Battalion. 

Haynes, James, private, N. L. A. Blues. 

Haynes, Mich., private, Stuart's Cavalry. 

Harrell, Jos. H., private, 13th Va. Cavalry. 

Halstead, W. W., private, Company A, 3d Va. Regiment. 

Hester, Thos., private. W. H. Rogers' Company. 

Hutchins, Edward, private, United Artillery, Norfolk. 

Hodges, H. H., private, Captain Chalmouth's Company. 

Halstead, Chris., private, Company K, 61st Virginia Regiment, wounded 
June 22d, 1864. 

Hatton, Wm. L., private, Signal Corps. 

Hull, Jacob B., private, Signal Corps. 

Handy, F. A. G., private, Signal Corps. 

Handy, Moses P., courier. 

Hume', John H., private, Signal Corps, detailed in "Tax in kind" Depart- 
ment, Tuscaloosa, Ala., and appointed to command Company C, Wood's 
Battalion, Alabama Reserves. 

Huestis, B. H., private, Company E, 32d Va. Regiment. 

Jordan, Jos. P., private, Company D, 6th Va. Regiment. 

Jones, B. G., private, Company A, 16th Va. Regiment. 

Jarvis, Alex., private, Company E, 61st Va. Rsgiment, killed at the Crater. 

Jenkins, Chas. E., private, Signal Corps. 

James, Stephen, private, Artillery Company, Richmond. 

Jarvis, W. R., carpenter's mate, C. S. Navy. 

Knott, Elvington, private, Company C, 13th Va. Cavalry. 

Kreiger, Geo. A., sergeant, Company M, 2d Va. Reserves. 

King, Geo., private, Jackson's Division. 

Keeter, W. W., private, Company I, 9th Va. Regiment, died in hospital. 

Knight, Geo., private, United Artillery. 

Lattimer, C. C, corporal, Huger Battery, eye shot out near Petersburg. 

Lane, James, private, Company E, 61st Virginia Regiment, killed at Cold 
Harbor. 

Lassiter, John, private, Company I, 9th Va. Regiment, mortally wounded, 
Warrenton Springs. 

14 



202 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Lilliston, Robt. W., private, Company C, 6th Va. Regiment, Drum Major 

Mahone's Brigade. 
Liverman, H. H., private, Company A, 3d Va,. Regiment, wounded Frazier's 

Farm and Gettysburg. 
Livesey, James E., private, Signal Corps. 
Levy, Richard B., private, Signal Corps. 
Lanier, Samuel, private, Graham's Battery, Petersburg. 
Minter, Win, R., private, Naval Brigade, surrendered at Appomattox. 
Maupin, Geo. W. O, Jr., private, N. L. A. Blues. 
Mahoney, E. N., private, Richmond Howitzers. 
McMahon, Hugh, private, C. S. Navy. 
Moore, George T., private, C. S. Navy. 
McLane, J. A., private, Company E, 61st Va. Regiment. 
Moore, F. M., private, Signal Corps. . 
Martin, John, private, Harbor Guard (Young's). 
Nimmo, John, lieutenant, Richmond Howitzer's. 

Niemeyer, H. Woodis, captain's clerk, C. S. Navy, killed at Island No. 10. 
Nash, V. W., lieutenant, 32d Va. Regiment. 
Nash, Wm. C, private, Signal Corps. 
Owens, Joseph T., captain, Company D, 26th Va. Regiment, wounded June 

16th, 1864, near Petersburg. 
Owens, B. H., private, Signal Corps. 
Parker, Wm. H.. private, Signal Corps. 
Peters, Osmond, Captain of Artillery, C. S. Army, and assigned to ordnance 

duty. 
Porter, Robert, private, N, L. A. Blues. 
Peed, C. C, private, Company G, Naval Brigade. 
Parker, Jos. A., private, McNeil's Independent Cavalry, 
Palmer, Geo. 0. N., private, Company I, 15th Va. Cavalry, discharged for 

disability. 
Parker, Stafford H, lieutenant, ordnance, lost an arm. 
Parker, Wm. S., private, ^5ommissarv department, 61st Va. Regiment. 
Pierce, Elisha, private, Company I, 6th Va. Regiment. 
Peters, Wm. R., private, Signal Corps. 
Peters, Osmond, Jr., private, Signal Corps. 
Pedrick, C. W., hospital steward. 

Parker, Geo. D., captain battery Whitworth guns, Fort Ffsher. 
Rainier, John T., corporal, N. L. A. Blues. 
Roberts, John B., private, N. L. A. Blues. 
Rogers, Chas. E., private, Company B., 61st Va., died in hospital April 

12th, 1863. 
Riley, Otey, C. S. Navy. 

Ross, Joseph, private, 4th Georgia Regiment. 
Ricketts, Augustus, private, Letcher Rangers. 

Reynolds, Robert E., private, N. L. A. Blues, died in prison, Point Lookout. 
Reed, Washington, private, Signal Corps. 
Sullivan, Robert, petty officer, C. S. Navy. 
Smith, James, private, N. L. A. Blues. 
Smith, R. W., private, Company I, 15th Va. Cavalry. 
Smith, 0. V., corporal, Richmond Howitzers. 
Shannon, Thos., lieutenant, Company F, 8th N, C. Regiment. 
Sale, Geo, L., hospital steward. 

Smith, Williamson, private, Company A, 16th Va. Regiment. 
Saunders, W. D. B., private, Company E, 61st Va. Regiment, killed Spotsyl- 
vania C. H. 
Stokes, Lemuel, private, 13th Va. Cavalry. 
Spaulding, John A., private, Company I, 9th Va. Regiment. 
Spooner, Alfred B., private, Signal Corps. 
Scott, Thos., private, Signal Corps. 
Sullivan, Henry, sergeant, Company C, 1st Va. Regiment, wounded, 2d Ma- 



IN OUTSIDE COMMANDS. 203 

Sullivan, Anthony, C. S. Navy, killed 1864, boarding the U. S. Str. Under- 
writer in North Carolina. 

Thompson, E. Jr., private, N. L. A. Blues. 

Tyler, Julius EL, Company B, 16th Virginia Regiment, surrendered at Ap- 
pomattox. 

Tyler, Henry C, private, Company B, 16th Virgin/a Regiment, surrendered 
at Appomattox. 

Thomas, L. W., lieutenant, Company D. 26th Va. Regiment. 

Tatem, John F., private, Company F, 41st Va. Regiment. 

Toomer,.Cbas. H., lieutenant, 41st Alabama, Grade's Brigade, was in 30 
battles, in which his company lost men killed, and 10 others in which it 
had men woundpd. 

Toomer, Shelton, private, 3d Alabama Regiment, lost leg at Malvern Hill 
July 1st, 1862, and name placed on roll of honor of the regiment for 
gallantry in battle. 

Turner, D. J. Jr., private, Signal Corps. 

Tabb, Chas.. private, Signal Corps. 

Veale, Amos E., was probably the youngest soldier in the Confederate army. 
He enlisted in Company H, 59th Va. Regiment as a drummer, at the 
age of eleven years, and Ca,ptain Neblett, of the company, in a commu- 
nication to the Richmond Dispatch in thesummerof 1891, said: When- 
ever the regiment went into a fight, Veale laid aside his drum, got a 
musket and did as good shooting as anyone in it. He lived through the 
war without having received a wound. 

Vickers, J. E., private, Huger's Battery. 

Williamson, Clarance H., private, N. L. A. Blues. 

Wilkerson, Nathaniel, private, Company — , 13th Va. Cavalry. 

Walker. C. W., courier, Gen. Blanchard, and in Naval Brigade, 

Wiersdorf, Edward, 6th Va. Regiment, musician. 

Webb, Richard, private, Company B, 13th Va. Cavalry. 

Williams, J. Q. A., C. S. Navy. 

Walton, D. S., engineer "corps, C. S. Army. 

White, Wm. F., captain, Company B, 6th Va. Regiment. 

Wootten, Peck, private, Wythe Rifles. 

Wagner, Lewis, private, Company E, 61st Va. Regiment. 

Williamson, Chas. C, private, Company E, 61st Va. Regiment, surrendered 
at Appomattox. 

Woodward, J as. T., private, Company — , 13th Va. Cavalry. 

Williams, Daniel A., sergeant, 17tb N. C. Regiment. 

Wright, Wm., private, Company C, 61st Va. Regiment. 

Wallace, Solon, private, Company C, 61st Va. Regiment. 

Wilkerson, Samuel, private, Company H, 12th Va. Regiment. 

Widgeon, John T., lieutenant, Company F, 41st Va. Regiment, killed at 
Chancellorsville. 

Whitehurst, D, W., sergeant, Company F, 41st Va. Regiment. 

White, Wm., sergeant, Company D, 6th Va. Regiment, transferred to navy 
January 22d, 1864. ' 

Wright, Benj., private, Company E, 61st Va. Regiment, killed, Spotsylvania 
Court House. 

Welsh, Patrick, private, North Carolina Regiment. 

Whitehurst, John, private, 2d N. C. Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Williams. 

White, Wm. A., private, Signal Corps. 

White, James C. Jr., private, Signal Corps. 

Wilson, St. Julien, lieutenant, Company C, 61st Va. Regiment, killed at the 
Crater. 

Young, John W., private, Signal Corps. 
Killed and died— 19. 

FEOM NORFOLK COUNTY. 

The following Norfolk county men were in the Randolph Dra- 



204 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5 

goons. Company C, 13th Virginia Cavalry, which was raised 
principally in Nansemond county : 

Second Lieutenant, Wm. F. Wise, wounded October 11th, 1863, at Brandy 

Station, and April 6th, 1865, at Saylor's Creek. 
First Sergeant, Keely Harrison. 
Sergeant, I. 0. Ivy. 

PRIVATES. 

Bunting, Lloyd, wounded at Slaughter's Mountain. 

Capps, Andrew J., captured at Stoney Creek, 1864, and died in prison at 

Point Lookout. 
Dennis, Samuel. 

Dennis, M. W., discharged L862, for sickness. 

Driver, Elliott J., wounded 1863, at Middleburg, Loudoun county. 
Duke, Hardy. 
Duke, Henry. 
Dunford, Emanuel. 
Ford, Wm. 

Knott, Elvington, wounded, 1865, at Five Forks and captured. 
Parker, Kobert. 
Skeeter, Joseph. 

Spivey, Jethro, wounded. 1863, at Dutch Gap. 
Spivey, Henry, died 1862. 
Stokes, Lemuel, wounded at Snicker's Gap. 
Wilson, Andrew J., wounded May, 1864, at Yellow Tavern. 

Killed and died— 2. 

Lieutenant Wise had a varied experience during the war. He 
was elected a lieutenant in the Craney Island Artillery, Company 
I, 9th Virginia Infantry, but declined, and joined a company of 
students from the University of Virginia, Company G, 59th Vir- 
ginia Regiment (3d Regiment Wise's Legion) and went through 
the West Virginia campaign with it. The company was dis- 
banded by order of the Secretary of War on the ground that " so 
much valuable material should be distributed for the good of the 
service." He was then temporarily with General Randolph at 
Suffolk as civil engineer, and upon the organization of Company 
0, 13th Virginia Cavalry, was elected 2d Lieutenant. He was 
wounded October 11th, 1863, at Brandy Station, and while dis- 
abled from active service, was acting assistant commissary to 
Major W. A. Shepherd at Weldon. lie rejoined the regiment 
May 1st, 1864, while still unable to dismount or walk without as- 
sistance, and was assigned to temporary duty as aid to General 
Chambliss, but his wound breaking out afresh, he was examined 
by a medical board and retired as unfit for service. He, however, 
again rejoined the company on the Petersburg lines, and was ac- 
tively engaged on the retreat from that city. He was wounded 
at Saylor's Creek April 6th, 1865, taken prisoner in the hospital 
by the enemy a day or two subsequently, and taken to a hospital 
in Washington, from which he was released May 21st, 1 865, and 
returned to his home in the Western Branch section of Norfolk 
county. 



IN OUTSIDE COMMANDS. 205 

In addition to the foregoing the author can recall the following 
Norfolk county men who were in the Confederate service, but 
whose names do not appear elsewhere : 

Armistead, B. A., sergeant, Company I, 13th Va. Cavalry. 
Baxter, O. F., private, Company I, loth Va. Cavalry. 
Drummond, H. P. P., private, Company I, 15th Va. Cavalry. 
Drnmmond, Thos. F., private, Company F, 46th Va. Regiment. 
Griffin, John T., captain and civil engineer, Petersburg fortifications. 
Fisher, Laben J., private, Company C, 15th Va. Cavalry. 
Halstead, W. F., private, Company 1, 15 th Va. Cavalry, 
Hodges, John M., private, N. L. A. Bines. 
Happer, George D. W., private, Wise's Legion, cavalry. 
Tves, Luther C., private, Company I, 15th Va. Cavalry. 
Johnston, James, mustering and inspecting officer, Huger's Division. 
Jamas, Cornelius, private, Company F, 3d Va. Infantry. 
Jones, John, seaman in the navy. 

James, Edward, private, Company F, 3d Virginia Infantry. 
King, James, private, Company F, 3d Virginia Infantry. 
Kilby, John, private, Company F, 3d Virginia Infantry. 
King, Goodman, seaman in the navy. 
King, Moscoe, private, Company K, 3d Va. Infantry. 
Lawrence, Albert, Company F, 3d Virginia Infantry. 
Lynch, Samuel, private, 7th N. C. Regiment. 

Mortin, Eugene S., private, Signal Corps,. killed on Appomattox river. 
Outten, E. A., private, Company I, 15th Va. Cavalry. 
Maund, David W., private, Signal Corps. 

Richardson, John W., drummer, Company F, 3d Va. Regiment. 
Smith, Samuel, private, Company I, 15th Va. Cavalry. 
Scott, Jas. E., private, Company I, 15th Va. Cavalry. 
Spaight, Henry, private, 68th North Carolina Regiment. 
Taylor, Jas. E., private, Company F, 3d Va. Infantry. 
Wilson, Thos., private, Louisiana Guard Artillery. 
Wallace. Geo. W., private, Signal Corps. 
White, Win. H., private, V. M. I. Cadets. 
Woodhouse, W. W., private, Mosby's Rangers. 
Waterfield, John, private, 7th N. C. Regiment. 
Willey, John M., private, 68th N. C. Regiment. 
White, Fred. A., private, Signal Corps. 
Williamson, Wm. A., private, Signal Corps. 
Killed and died— 1. 



CHAPTEK XXVI. 

THE ST. BKIDE'S CAVALRY, COMPANY F, FIFTEENTH VIRGINIA. 



This was one of the largest and best equipped cavalry compa- 
nies in the Confederate service. Its members belonged princi- 
pally in St. Bride's Parish of Norfolk county, and from that it 
obtained its name. It was organized at the beginning of the 
war and was mustered into service under the following officers : 

Captain — John C. Doyle. 

First Lieutenant, Moses Myers ; 2d Lieutenant, Wm. Johftson ; 
3d Lieutenant, Charles Johnson. 

The company was attached to Burroughs' Cavalry Battalion 
and did picket duty on the beach from Seawell's Point to Ocean 
View from its organization until the evacuation of Norfolk by 
the Confederates, when it moved to Petersburg and from there 
to Richmond. Upon arriving at the latter city it was ordered to 
join Johnston's army, then in the vicinity of Seven Pines, and did 
picket duty there. Shortly after the battle of Seven Pines it was 
consolidated with ditcher's cavalry battalion into a regiment and 
Critcher was made Colonel. The regiment was numbered the 
15th, and the St. Bride's company became Company F. It was 
well mounted, well equipped and composed of excellent material. 
Colonel Critcher did not remain long with the regiment but re- 
signed in the summer of 1862 He was succeeded in command 
by Colonel William F. Ball, who was stationed with the regiment 
in the summer and fall of 1862 on the upper Rappahannock river 
guarding the fords and watching the movements of the enemy. 
In November the regiment was assigned to the brigade of General 
W. II. F. Lee, and when General Lee was promoted to Major 
General the brigade was placed under the command of Brigadier 
General Lomax. 

It will be impossible in this short sketch to follow the company 
through the numerous battles and skirmishes in which it was en- 
gaged. It was in active service in front until the close of the 
war, doing picket and scouting duty while the army was station- 
ary, marching in front when it was on the advance and guarding 
the rear when it was falling back. It participated in all of the 
battles in which the regiment was engaged. The officers who 
were elected at the reorganization remained with it until the close 
of the war and were fortunate in not being killed or disabled. 

While General Lee's army was in Maryland in September, 1862, 
the line of the Rapidan river was held by the 15th Virginia Cav- 
alry, the 61st Virginia, and the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues, 
and its duties there were very arduous and its skirmishes with the 

206 



ST, BRIDE'S CAVALRY, CO. F, FIFTEENTH VIRGINIA. 207 

enemy were frequent. It had an engagement of considerable 
magnitude at Falmouth with the advance of General Burnside's 
army on its march to Fredericksburg in November, 1862, and 
General Lee in his official report gives it the credit of having 
prevented it from crossing the river. In March, 1862, at the re- 
organization of the company all of the old officers were thrown 
out and left the company. The officers enumerated in the follow- 
ing list of names were elected. 

Below will be found the roll of the company : 

Captain John F. Cooper, captured at Louisa, Va. 

First Lieutenant James L. Northern. 

Second Lieutenant William H. Wilkins, captured Culpepper C. H. 

Third Lieutenant Lemuel J. Pritchard, wounded at Louisa, Va. 

First Sergeant Columbus W. Foreman, wounded near Culpepper C. H. June, 

1864. 
Second Sergeant William T. Smith. 
Third Sergeant Roscoe H. Brown. 
Fourth Sergeant John F. Old, wounded near Fredericksburg December 13th, 

1862. 
First Corporal Edgar N. Outten, captured at Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 
Second Corporal John J. Wilson. 

Third Corporal William F. Ashly, killed near Petersburg, 1865. 
Fourth Corporal William Pritchard, died in hospital 1863, Richmond. 

PRIVATES. 

Ansel, John H., died in hospital. 

Barnes, William H. 

Bunting, George S. 

Brown, William B. 

Berry, John, died in prison Point Lookout. 

Berry, Samuel, wounded Orange Court House. 

Brice, George D. 

Bullock, Joseph A. 

Cooper, Arthur. 

Cooper, Edward P., discharged 1862, over age. 

Culpepper, Daniel M., killed near Fredericksburg 1863. 

Cox, Thomas, transferred to a North Carolina regiment. 

Colebuvn, Wm. 

Creamer, James. 

Creekmore, John J., killed near Fredericksburg 1863. 

Creekmore, Alex. O., killed near Fredericksburg 1863. 

Davis, Charles T., discharged 1862, disability. 

Davis, Gideon V., discharged 1862, over age. 

Denby, Andrew J., discharged 1862, over age. 

Denby, Edward. 

Dixon, Ralph. 

Etheredge, Dennis, captured at Louisa, Va. 

Eason, Israel. 

Fentress, Joshua. 

Fentress, David, discharged 1863, disability. 

Fentress, Wm. H., died in 1862 in hospital. 

Fentress, James, wounded at Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 

Foreman, Claudius T. 

Foreman, Wm. H. 

Foreman, Alex. 

Frizzell, Joseph. 

Frizzell, John. 



208 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Fulford, Arthur, captured at Culpepper C. H. 

Forbes, Peter S. 

Flora, John T., transferred to a North Carolina regiment. 

Fiske, James W. 

Fiske, Richard B., captured at Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 

Gammon, John W. 

Gilbert, Timothy, captured at Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 

Grandy, Thomas G., transferred to a North Carolina regiment. 

Gornto, David T., discharged 1862, disability. 

Guy, Benjamin F. 

Hancock, Wm. S., wounded at Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 

Hawkins, Wallace W. 

Hancock, Francis A., discharged 1863, disability. 

Harrison, Joseph M. 

Hardy, J. Henry Clay. 

Hanbury, Miles A. 

Hanbury, Win. T. 

Hearring, Edward L. 

Hewlet, Ambrose. 

Holmes, Wm. H., discharged 1862, over age. 

Holmes, Henry, killed August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

Holland, Wm., killed. 

Humphries, Samuel. 

Ironmonger, Thomas W., discharged 1862, over age. 

Jennings, Noah M., killed in Pasquotank county, North Carolina, by Buf- 
faloes. 

Jordan, Edward, discharged 1862, disability. 

Joliff, Josiah. 

Johnson, James V., transferred to Navy. 

Lee, James W. 

Larke, Robert W., discharged 1862, disability. 

Lockheart, John. 

Martin, James G., discharged 1862, disability. 

Martin, James E. 

McPherson, Thomas G. 

Mears, Elvington R., discharged 1862, over age. 

Miller, Augustus. 

Miller, James. 

Munden, David T. 

Nicholas, Willoughby L., captured at Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 

Old, James Y. 

Parsons, Napoleon B. 

Petty, Wm. 

Pitts, Andrew J. 

Peyton, Joseph A. 

Robinson, Lemuel D. 

Reid, Wm. C, transferred to Navy 1862. 

Russell, Thomas R. 

Simpson, Wm. 

Stroud, Edward, discharged 1862, over age, 

Sykes, Cornelius, furnished substitute 1862. 

Sanderlin, John, transferred to a North Carolina regiment. 

Sylvester, Keeling, killed in Camden county, North Carolina, by Buffaloes; 

Steward, Solomon. 

Sadler, Robert. 

Slack, Edward. 

Tabb, Robert B., wounded accidentally at Fredericksburg, disabled and 
discharged. 

Tyson, Win. G., died in hospital 1863, Richmond. 

Warden, Kosciusco, captured at Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 



ST. BRIDE'S CAVALRY, CO. F, FIFTEENTH VIRGINIA. 209 

Williams, David, wounded accidentally and disabled. 
Wilson, Amsey W., killed Yellow Tavern May, 1864. 
White, Thomas J. 

Whitemore, Marchant, died from wounds. 
Wilkins, Thomas B. 
Williamson, Joshua J., died. 

Wallace, Solomon, killed near Fredericksburg 1862. 
Wilson, George A., furnished substitute 1862. 
Killed and died— 17. 



CHAPTER XXYII. 

FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 

The following field and staff officers from Portsmouth and 
Norfolk count j served in the Confederate army: 

FROM PORTSMOUTH. 

Brigadier General Archibald C. Godwin, killed August 18th, 1864, at the 
battle of Winchester, Early's Valley campaign. 

Colonel James Gregory Hodges, 14th Virginia Regiment, killed July 3d, 
1863, at Gettysburg. 

Colonel John C. Owens, 9th Virginia Regiment, killed July 3d, 1863, at Get- 
tysburg. 

Colonel David J. Godwin, 9th Virginia Regiment, lived through the war. 

Colonel Bristor B. Gayle, 12th Alabama Regiment, killed September 14th, 

1862, at Boonsboro, or South Mountain. 

Colonel James Giles, 29th Virginia Regiment, lived through the war. 

Lieutenant Colonel James C. Council, 26th Virginia Regiment. 

Lieutenant Colonel G. G. Luke, 56th North Carolina Regiment, lived 

through the war. 
Lieutenant Colonel Wm. F. Niemeyer, 61st Virginia Regiment, killed May 

12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania Court House. 
Major Giles B. Cooke, Assistant Inspector General on the staff of General 

R. E. Lee, lived through the war. 
Major John Q. Richardson, 52d North Carolina Regiment, killed July 3d, 

1863, at Gettysburg. 

Major Charles R. McAlpine, 61st Virginia Regiment, lived through the war. 
Major William James Richardson, 9th Virginia Regiment, lived through the 

war. 
Captain Stephen A. Cowley, Adjutant General Quarles Division, killed at 

Franklin, Tenn., 1864. 
Captain James W. Riddick, Assistant Adjutant General Scales' North Caro- 
lina Brigade, severely wounded but lived through the war. 
Adjutant John W. H. Wrenn, 3d Virginia Regiment, lived through the war. 
Adjutant James F. Crocker, 9th Virginia Regiment, lived through the war. 
Adjutant Levin Gayle, 12th Alabama Regiment, lived through the war. 
Adjutant Edward B. Ward, 16th Virginia Regiment, lived through the war. 
Adjutant John S. Jenkins, 14th Virginia Regiment, killed July 3d, 1863, at 

Gettysburg. 
Adjutant Alexander E. Butt, 41st Virginia Regiment, killed May 3d, 1863, 

at Chancellorsville. 

FROM NORFOLK COUNTY. 
Colonel William White, Fourteenth Virginia Regiment, lived through the 

war. . 

Lieutenant Colonel Willinm H. Stewart, Sixy-first Virginia Regiment, lived 

through the war. 
Lieutenant Colonel George A. Martin, Thirty-eighth Virginia Regiment, lived 

through the war. 
Major William II. Etheredge, Forty-first Virginia Regiment, lived through 

the war. 
Adjutant John F. Stewart, Third Virginia Regiment, lived through the war. 
Adjutant Griffin F. Edwards, Sixty-first Virginia Regiment, lived through 

the war. 
Adjutant William S. Wright, Sixty-first Virginia Regiment, died in 1863 of 

congestive chill. 

210 



FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 211 

MEDICAL CORPS. 

Below will be found the names of the Portsmouth men who 
were in the Medical Corps of the army : 

Dr. H. F. Butt, Brigade Surgeon, Daniels' .North Carolina Brigade. 

Dr. V. B. Bilisoly, Surgeon of an Alabama regiment and at hospital, Sehna. 

Dr. W. M. Cocke, Assistant Surgeon Fourteenth Virginia Regiment, mor- 
tally wounded in April, 1865, near Petersburg and died in Old Capitol 
prison. 

Dr. J. M. Covert, Surgeon Louisiana Regiment, Hayes' Brigade. 

Dr. James Parrish, Brigade Surgeon Mahone's Brigade, and subsequently 
Brigade Surgeon of Chambliss' Cavalry Brigade. 

Dr. R. H. Parker, Assistant Surgeon Thirty-second North Carolina Regi- 
ment and Surgeon Rhodes' Division hospital. 

Dr. Jesse C. Shannon, Assistant Surgeon North Carolina regiment. 

Dr. Franklin J. White, Surgeon in hospital, Richmond, and subsequently in 
Kirkland's North Carolina Brigade. 

Dr. Edwin M. Watts. Surgeon Simms' Brigade, Georgia. 

Dr. Thomas H. Wingfield, Assistant Surgeon on staff of General R. E. Lee 

FROM NORFOLK COUNTY. 

Dr. William E. Kemble, Surgeon North Carolina Brigade. 
Dr. I. J. Cherry, Assistant Surgeon Chimborazo Hospital. 

QUARTERMASTERS AND COMMISSARIES. 

The following Portsmouth men held commissions in the Quar- 
termaster and Commissary Departments : 

Robert M. Boykin, Captain and A. C. S. Young's Cavalry Brigade. 

John K. Cooke. Major and Purchasing Agent. 

A. E. Etheredge, Captain and A. Q. M. 61st Virginia Regiment. 

John Emmerson, Captain and A. C. S. Southwest Virginia. 

George W. Grice, Major and Purchasing Commissary at Augusta, Ga. 

J. Madison Hudgins, Captain and A. C. S. Army of Northern Virginia. 

Thomas W. Pierce, Major and C. S. Army of Northern Virginia. 

Win. H. Peters, Navy Agent Charlotte, N. C. 

William Sherwood, Captain and A. Q. M. Mahone's Brigade. 

Arthur E. Wilson, Captain and Commissary 14th Virginia Regiment. 

Wm. C. Wingfield. Major and C. S. Mahone's Division. 

FROM NORFOLK COUNTY. 

John R. White, Captain and A. C. S. 3d Virginia Regiment and Purchasing 

Commissary on BlacK water river. 
George D. Old, Captain and A. C. S. 61st Virginia Regiment. 

General Archibald C. Godwin was engaged in business in 
North Carolina at the beginning of the war and received a staff 
appointment. He was afterwards appointed Colonel of the 57th 
North Carolina Regiment of Law's Brigade, Hood's Division, 
and proved himself to be a gallant soldier. His regiment distin- 
guished itself at the battle of Fredericksburg December 13th, 
1862. That was its first engagement and its ranks had not been 
depleted by sickness and battle. A brigade of the enemy, under 
cover of the banks of a creek which empties into the Rappahan- 
nock about two miles below Fredericksburg, approached the Con- 
federate lines and took up a position in the railroad cut. Colonel 
Godwin charged them with his regiment and drove them out. He 
was promoted to Brigadier General in 1861 and was killed on the 



212 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

18th of August in the battle near Winchester in Early's Valley 
campaign. 

Colonel James Gregory Hodges was born in Portsmouth on 
the 28th of December, 1829, and embraced the medical profes- 
sion. He located in Portsmouth, and at the breaking out of the 
war he had quite a lucrative practice. He was popular with the 
people of that city and they testified their appreciation of his 
worth by electing him to the position of Mayor. When Governor 
Letcher issued his call for volunteers in April, 1861, at the com- 
mencement of hostilities, Colonel Hodges was in command of the 
3d Virginia Volunteers, composed of the military companies of 
Portsmouth and Norfolk county, but was transferred by Gov- 
ernor Letcher to the 14th Regiment, which . was on duty with 
General Magruder on the Peninsula near Yorktown. He was 
actively engaged in the battles of Williamsburg, Seven Pines, 
Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg, Suffolk and Gettysburg, and was pres- 
ent with his regiment, though not actively engaged, at the battles 
of Second Manassas and Fredericksburg. At Malvern Hill he 
was stunned by the explosion of a shell near him and part of his 
hair was burned by it. He was complimented in the report of 
General Armistead, his brigade commander, for gallantry and 
good conduct on this occasion. At the battle of Sharpsburg, and 
for some time after, he had command of Armistead's Brigade in 
the absence of General Armistead, who was appointed to com- 
mand the provost guard of the army, and was killed July 3d, 
1863, while leading his regiment at the stone wall in the charge 
of Pickett's Division at Gettysburg. His remains were buried 
on the battle field by the enemy and his grave was not marked. 
His family have, therefore, not been able to find them. 

Colonel John C. Owens was born in Mathews county, Vir- 
ginia, March 19th, 1S30, and removed to Portsmouth with [his 
parents when quite a small boy. When the war broke out he 
was Captain of the Portsmouth Rifle Company, one of the best 
equipped and most popular companies in the city. He responded 
promptly to Governor Letcher's call and was mustered into ser- 
vice with his company, which numbered more than a hundred 
men, and was assigned to the 9th Regiment as Company G. He 
commanded the company at the battle of Pig Point, in which it 
drove off the U. S. steamer Harriet Lane, June 5th, 1861, and in 
May, 1862, at the reorganization of the 9th Virginia Regiment 
was promoted to Major of the regiment. He was with the regi- 
ment at Seven Pines and, during the Seven Days' battles when 
Huger's Division was moving down the Charles City road with 
orders to cut off McClellan's retreat, Major Owens became impa- 
tient at the slowness with which the division was being moved, 
and, fearing that McClellan would slip by before the division 
reached the place at which it was expected to intercept him, 



FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 213 

urged upon General linger the importance of moving faster and 
of making fewer and shorter halts. He offered to take the ad- 
vance with the 9th Regiment or any other force General linger 
might place under his command and proceed rapidly until he met 
a force of the enemy sufficient to stop him, but General linger 
would not accede to his request. McClellan did slip by, escaped 
with his army, and the useless waste of life at Malvern Hill fol- 
lowed. Major Owens was wounded August 28th, 1S62, at War- 
ren ton Springs but remained with the regiment through the 
Maryland campaign, on its return to Fredericksburg, on its march 
to Suffolk in the spring of 1863, and in June, 1863 was promoted 
to the position of Colonel of the regiment. On the 3d of July, 
1863, he led the regiment in the charge of Pickett's Division at 
Gettysburg and was shot through the body with a shrapnel when 
a little more than half way across the field. He was taken to the 
field hospital in rear of the lines and died about two o'clock that 
night and was buried there. He was a quiet, modest man, but 
determined in the discharge of his duty. He died as he fought, 
bravely and without a murmur. After the war his remains were 
brought back, to Portsmouth and interred in Oakwood cemetery. 

Colonel David J. Godwin was born in Suffolk in 1829 and 
removed to Portsmouth in 1853 and began the practice of law. 
Before the war he was several times elected Commonwealth's At- 
torney of Portsmouth and at the breaking out of hostilities was 
Lieutenant Colonel of the old 3d Virginia Volunteer Regiment of 
Portsmouth and Norfolk county, but was relieved by Governor 
Letcher. At the time of the evacuation of Portsmouth by the 
Confederates he was engaged in raising a regiment of heavy ar- 
tillery, and after Huger's Division was moved to Petersburg in 
May, 1862, he was elected Lieutenant Colonel of the 9th Virginia 
Regiment and was promoted to Colonel. He commanded the 
regiment at the battle of Seven Pines, June 1st, 1863, and the 
horse which he was riding was wounded by a minie ball. This 
caused him to rear and plunge and he struck Colonel Godwin's 
leg against a tree, bruising it quite painfully. This disabled him 
temporarily and he was assigned to other duty and did not rejoin 
the regiment. He commanded a cavalry detachment in 1863 
which was operating in the neighborhood of Gloucester Point. 

Colonel Bristor B. Gayle was born in Portsmouth April 
19th, 1839, and was educated at the Virginia Military and Colle- 
giate Institute in Portsmouth. At the breaking out of the war 
he was teaching school in Alabama and raised a company of in- 
fantry at Summerville, which was organized with the 12th Ala- 
bama Regiment. At the reorganization of the regiment in May, 
1862 Captain Gayle was elected Lieutenant Colonel, and at the 
death of the Colonel, who was killed at Seven Pines, was pro- 
moted to Colonel. The regiment came to Virginia in 1861 and 



214 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1S61-5. 

was attached to Rodes' Brigade. It followed the fortunes of 
that gallant organization through the campaigns of 1862 and 
marched with it into Maryland. Rodes' Brigade, with other 
commands, was stationed at Boonsboro, or South Mountain, to 
hold in check McClellan's arm}' until Jackson could succeed in 
the capture of Harper's Ferry and the army could be concentrated 
at Sharpsburg. The enemy attacked Bodes' Brigade at Boons- 
boro on the 14th of September, and after a stubborn fight, in 
which the enemy was checked until it was too late for them to 
relievo Harper's Ferry, the brigade was withdrawn under the 
cover of night. Colonel Gayle was killed in the battle and his 
body was left on the field when the regiment fell back. He was 
just a little more than twenty-three years old. General D. H. 
Hill, to whose command he was attached, spoke of him as " a 
most gallant and accomplished officer." Captain R. E. Park, 
who commanded the skirmish line of the 12th Alabama, thus de- 
scribes his death : " The enemy pushed forward and soon came 
upon Colonel Gayle and the rear support. He was ordered to 
surrender, but drawing his pistol and firing into their faces, he 
exclaimed : ' We are flanked, boys, but let's die in our tracks,' 
and continued to fire until he was literally riddled with bullets, 
and surrendered up his pure, brave young spirit to the God who 
gave it." [Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. 1, No. 6, 
page 437.] 

Lieutenant-Colonel G. G. Luke was born in Portsmouth Oc- 
tober 19th, 1833, and was a grandson of Isaac Luke, who more 
than a hundred years ago was one of the best known and most 
prominent citizens of Portsmouth, and whose remains are in- 
terred in the burying ground attached to Trinity Episcopal 
Church. He was educated at the public schools in Portsmouth 
and in Partridge's Military Academy, and at the beginning of 
the war was teaching school in Camden county, North Carolina, 
and preparing for the practice of law. He raised a company of 
twelve months troops in Camden county, the North Carolina De- 
fenders, Company H, 32d North Carolina Regiment, but his com- 
pany was ordered to Fort Hatteras and attached to the 17th North 
Carolina. It was captured with that fort. Upon being ex- 
changed he raised another company for the war and was assigned 
to the 56th North Carolina Regiment, Ransom's Brigade, and 
promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. He led the charge of the bri- 
gade at the capture of Plymouth, was in the fighting around New- 
berne, was severely wounded at the battle of Drury's Bluff May 
16th, 1864, was with the brigade in its battles around Petersburg, 
and was captured at Five Forks. 

Lieutenant-Colonel William F, Niemeyer was born in 
Portsmouth May 12th, 1840, of a family which had long resided 
there, and was appointed a cadet in the Military Academy at 



FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 215 

West Point in June, 1857, which position he resigned in May, 
1861, and tendered his services to Governor Letcher. The first 
year of the war he was assigned to. the duty of drilling and su- 
perintending the equipping of the new companies which were 
being organized in the counties adjacent to Norfolk and Ports- 
mouth, and in May, 1862, was elected by the officers of the 61st 
Virginia Regiment to the position of Lieutenant-Colonel, and in 
that capacity commanded the regiment from that time until the 
fall of 1862, when Colonel V. J). Groner was assigned to it as 
Colonel. Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer was with the regiment at 
the battles of Fredericksburg, Zoah's Church, McCarthy's Farm, 
Chancellorsville, Salem Church, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, Bristoe 
Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Shady Grove and Spotsylvania 
Courthouse, in which last battle he received his death wound. 
The battle was over for the day and the enemy had been driven 
back. It was late in the afternoon, and Captain McAlpine, of 
Company I, had captured a fine horse that belonged to a Federal 
officer, which he presented to Lieutenant-Colonel Niemeyer, who, 
while in the act of extending his hand to take the horse, was shot 
through the heart by a sharpshooter on the enemy's picket line 
and died instantly. The battle was fought on his birthday, and 
he was just twenty-four years old at the date of his death. He 
was one of the youngest field officers in the army. His remains 
were taken to Richmond and there interred. 

Majoe Giles B. Cooke was born in Portsmouth and belonged 
to a family which had a fondness for military life, his father, 
Major John K. Cooke having been an officer in the Mexican war. 
He entered the Confederate service as Adjutant of a regiment 
commanded by Colonel Philip St. George Cocke, and when Col- 
onel Cocke was promoted to the command of a brigade he became 
Adjutant General of the brigade, and in that capacity took part 
in the first battle of Manassas. In the winter of 1862-3 he was 
Adjutant and Inspector General on the staff of Major General 
Sam Jones, commanding the department of Western Virginia, 
and from there was transferred to the staff of General Beaure- 
gard. Following that officer into Virginia in the spring of 1864 
he was, after the battle of Drury's Bluff, transferred to the staff 
of General Robert E. Lee as Major and Assistant Inspector Gen- 
eral. He followed the fortunes of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia from then until the close of the war and surrendered with 
the remnant of the army at Appomattox. 

Majoe John Q. Richaedson was born in Portsmouth about 
the year 1837 and received a collegiate education. Happening to 
be in North Carolina when the war began he enlisted in one of 
the regiments from that State. Subsequently he received a staff 
appointment and was afterwards appointed Major of the 52d 
North Carolina Regiment. He was killed in the charge of his 



216 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

brigade at the battle of Gettysburg July 3d, 1863, while gallantly 
cheering his men on. He was a courageous soldier and one of 
the handsomest men in the army. 

Major Charles R. McAlpine was born in Princess Anne 
county, Virginia in April, 1827, and removed to Portsmouth in 
1855 and began the practice of his j)rofession, medicine. He was 
extremely popular in the community and had a very large prac- 
tice at the breaking out of the war. He was an ardent Secession- 
est, and before Virginia seceded assisted in raising a company in 
Portsmouth to go to South Carolina to offer their services to the 
Governor of that State. He was elected First Lieutenant of this 
company, but before it could obtain uniforms Virginia followed 
the lead of South Carolina and left the Union, and the company 
was mustered into service in Virginia as Company D, 9th Vir- 
ginia Regiment. Lieutenant McAlpine resigned his commission 
May 14th, 1861, in Company D to accept the captaincy of a new 
company then being organized and afterwards assigned to the 
61st Virginia Regiment as Company I. He was commissioned 
Captain of this company June 16th, 1861, and was promoted to 
Major of the 61st Regiment May 12th, 1864, which position he 
resigned March 25th, 1865, for the purpose of organizing a bat- 
talion of partizan rangers to operate in the Blackwater section of 
Virginia, but the close of the war put an end to his plans. He 
was a fearless and dashing soldier, was always in the front of the 
battle, and though several times wounded did not miss a battle in 
which the regiment was engaged up to the date of his resigna- 
tion. 

Major William J. Richardson was born in Portsmouth Feb- 
ruary 29th, 1828, and for a number of years before the war was 
Captain of the Portsmouth Rifle Company. When the troubles 
between the JSTortli and South were about to ripen into a crisis 
he organized a new company called the Virginia Artillery, after- 
wards assigned to the 9th Regiment as Company D, and was 
elected its Captain. The company was on duty on Craney Island 
the first year of the war, and at the reorganization in April, 1862, 
Captain Richardson was re-elected Captain of the company, which 
position he held until June, 1863, when he was promoted to Ma- 
jor of the regiment. He was in the charge of Pickett's Division 
at Gettysburg and was captured there and not exchanged. He 
was paroled just before the close of the war and sent through the 
lines to Richmond but, not having been exchanged, he did not re- 
join his regiment. 

Colonel William White was a broad-shouldered old soldier 
and was as brave as he was big. He was born January 7th, 1820, 
near Great Bridge, in Norfolk county, studied medicine at the 
Medical College in Richmond and in New York, and at the 
breaking out of the war was practicing medicine and lived at the 



FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 217 

village of Deep Creek, in Norfolk county, about eight miles from 
Portsmouth. lie was one of the Lieutenants of the Dismal 
Swamp Rangers at its organization in 1856, but resigned shortly 
afterwards. In 1861 he was elected from Norfolk county and 
Portsmouth as a Union delegate to the Virginia State Convention 
which passed the ordinance of secession, and voted against its 
passage in that body, but after the State had decided to secede 
he yielded to her sovereign authority and tendered her his ser- 
vices. He was appointed by Governor Letcher Major of the 14th 
Virginia Regiment, then under General Magruder at Yorktown, 
and while there was placed in command of the detachment which 
General Magruder sent to burn Hampton. At the battle of Mal- 
vern Hill Lieutenant-Colonel Evans of the 14th Regiment was 
disabled by a wound, and Major White was promoted to Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, which position he held until the battle of Gettys- 
burg, where Colonel Hodges was killed, and lie was promoted to 
Colonel of the regiment. He was severely wounded in the neck 
in the charge of Pickett's Division at Gettysburg, but escaped 
without being captured, and from that time until the close of the 
war was in command of the regiment, and frequently in com- 
mand of the brigade. The regiment was in Armistead's Brigade, 
and Colonel White was present at all of the" battles in which it 
was engaged. At the battle of Drury's Bluff May 16th, 1864, he 
planned and executed a flanking movement on the enemy's right 
which contributed materially to the Confederate victory on that 
occasion. 

Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Stewart was born in the 
village of Deep Creek, Norfolk county, September 25th, 1838. 
He inherited a military disposition, for his grandfather was a sol- 
dier in the war of 1812 and died in the service, and his great 
grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, having been 
appointed a Lieutenant in the 11th Virginia Regiment. He en- 
tered the schools in the neighborhood of his father's home near 
Wallaceton, Norfolk county, and finished his education in 1859 
at the University of Virginia. At the breaking out of the war 
he was engaged with his father in the shingle and lumber busi- 
ness, which he gave up and entered the army as 2d Lieutenant in 
the Wise Light Dragoons. (See chapter XXVIII). Upon the 
disbanding of this company he was instrumental in organizing an 
infantry company at Pleasant Grove Church, and on July 1st, 
1861, was elected its captain. It afterwards became Company A, 
61st Virginia Regiment. At the organization of the regiment in 
Petersburg in 1862 Captain Stewart was elected Major, and on 
the 12th of May, 1864, was elected Lieutenant-Colonel, which 
position he held until the surrender of the army at Appomattox. 
He was wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville and again at 
Spotsylvania Court House. He commanded the regiment at the 

15 



218 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

battles of North Anna River, Hanover Court House, Atlee's Sta- 
tion, Cold Harbor, Turkey Ridge, Second Frazier's Farm, Wil- 
cox Farm, Gurley House, Crater, Reams' Station, June 27th and 
August 25th, 1864, Burgess' Mill and Hatcher's Run, the colonel 
of the regiment being absent on account of wounds. He was 
with the regiment in the following battles also : Fredericksburg, 
Rappahannock Bridge, Zoah's Church, McCarthy's Farm, Chan- 
cellorsville, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, commanding brigade picket 
line, Culpepper, Mine Run, Wilderness, Shady Grove, Spotsylva- 
nia Court House, Davis' Farm, Hicksford, Amelia Court House, 
Cumberland Church and Appomattox, and was present with his 
company in the engagements at Seawell's Point March 8th and 
May 8th, 1862, with the Federal fleet. He missed only two bat- 
tles in which it was engaged, namely, Bristoe Station, which took 
place when he was absent on leave, and Salem Church, which w T as 
fought while he was in the field hospital suffering from a wound 
received that morning at Chancellorsville. 

Lieutenant-Colonel George A. Martin was born at Mount 
Pleasant, Norfolk county, September 3d, 1833, and studied law T 
at the University of Yirginia. At the breaking out of the war 
he enlisted in the St. Bride's Artillery, a company organized in 
Norfolk county, and was elected its Captain. In May, 1862, his 
company was attached temporarily to the 14th Yirginia Regiment 
and participated in the second day's engagement at Seven Pines 
June 1st, after which it was retained in the fortifications around 
Richmond until April 25th, 1864, when it was assigned to the 
38th Virginia Regiment as Company I. Captain Martin subse- 
quently participated in the battles of May 10th and May 16th, 
1864, near Drury's Bluff and June 16th near Chester Station. In 
the battle of May 10th Colonel Cabell, commander of the regi- 
ment, was killed, and Captain Griggs, senior captain, was pro- 
moted to Colonel, and on the 28th of March, 1865, Captain Mar- 
tin, the next in rank, was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, his 
commission to date from December 2d, 1864. For some days 
previous to his promotion Lieutenant-Colonel Martin was sick in 
a hospital in Richmond, and upon the evacuation of that city 
went to Lychburg by rail and was assigned by General Colston to 
the command of the Home Guard for the defence of the city, but 
when General Colston surrendered it he pushed on into Carolina, 
following the fortunes of President Davis, and surrendered at 
Augusta, Georgia, after the surrender of General Johnston's 
army. 

Major William H. Etheredge was born near Great Bridge in 
Norfolk county on the 27th of July, 1820, and was raised a 
farmer, at which occupation he was engaged at the beginning of 
the war. Shortly before the war the men in that portion of the 
county organized the Norfolk County Rifle Patriots, one of the 



FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 219 

largest and best companies which entered the Confederate service, 
and lie was elected Captain of it. It was subsequently assigned 
to the 41st Virginia Regiment, as Company F. Captain Ether- 
edge on the 21st of April, 1861, took possession of the naval ord- 
nance stores at St. Helena, opposite the Navy Yard, and for 
nearly a year did guard duty in the Navy Yard. He was very 
.highly complimented by Colonel Chambliss, Colonel of the 41st 
Regiment, for gallantry at the battle of Seven Pines, and shortly 
after that battle, Colonel Chambliss having been transferred to 
the command of a cavalry regiment, Captain Etheredge was pro- 
moted to the position of Major of the 41st, which position he held 
until the surrender at Appomattox, when he laid aside the sword 
which he had carried so worthily. He was present in every bat- 
tle in which Mahone's Brigade took part, and though he always 
fought, in front of his men, was never wounded. He had a nar- 
row escape at the Crater, an account of which is told in Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Win. H. Stewart's account of that battle, ante, chapter 
XXI V. Xo soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia has a 
better war record than Major Etheredge. In probably more than 
half of the battles in which the regiment was engaged he was its 
commander, his superior officers being disabled either from sick- 
ness or wounds. 

Captain Stephen A. Cowley was about 16 years old at the 
beginning of the war and was attending a military school in North 
Carolina, and was employed by the Governor of that State as 
drill master for new troops at Raleigh. In December, 1861, he 
went to General Beauregard's army in Kentucky and was ap- 
pointed a Lieutenant in the regular army. He was at Fort Henry 
when it fell, but escaped and went to Fort Donelson, where he was 
captured at the surrender of the fort, was exchanged in October, 
1862, and was appointed by Colonel Quarles Adjutant of his reg- 
iment, the — th Tennessee. Colonel Quarles was promoted to 
Major General and Captain Cowley became Inspector General on 
his staff. He was with General Quarles in the campaign between 
Sherman and Johnston, and when Hood superceded Johnston he 
was with the army in its advance into Tennessee, and was killed 
on the enemy's breastworks at Franklin. 



CHAPTEK XXYIII. 

THE WISE LIGHT DRAGOONS. 

During the John Brown rebellion in 1859, a cavalry company 
was organized in Norfolk county under the name of the Wise 
Light Dragoons, of which Captain Aldustin Wilson was comman- 
der. The company retained its organization, but Captain Wilson 
resigned as its commander, and at the breaking out of the war its 
officers were : 

Captain, John W. Young. 

First Lieutenant, Columbus W. Foreman. 

Second Lieutenant, Wm. H. Stewart. 

The company turned out on the 20th of April, and was sent to 
SeawelTs Point by the commanding officer in Norfolk to do picket 
duty on the beach between that point and Ocean Yiew. It re- 
mained there for nearly two months, but not having the requisite 
number of men to be mustered into the Confederate service, it 
was disbanded. 

While it was engaged on picket duty there the United States 
steamer Monticello was in the habit of shelling the woods, and 

one of the shells exploded near Private Sykes, wounding 

him in the leg. This was the first casualty of war in the vicinity 
of Norfolk, and Private Sykes was quite a lion for a short while. 
It is to be regretted that a roll of the company cannot be obtained 
but as the men entered the Confederate service in other com- 
mands, their names are recorded with those organizations. The 
company was not mustered into the service of the Confederate 
States, but a history of the part Norfolk county took in the war 
would not be complete without a reference to it. 



220 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



IN THE NAVY PORTSMOUTH. 



In addition to a large number of seamen, Portsmouth was rep- 
resented in the Confederate States Navy by the following officers : 
Captain, James W. Cooke. 



John J. Guthrie. 
John H. Parker, 
Wm, H. Murdaugh, Wm. E. Hudgins, 

SURGEONS. 

Chas. H. Williamson, 

MASTERS. 

Benj. "W". Guthrie, 

CHIEF ENGINEERS. 

Michael Quinn James H. Warner, 



LIEUTENANTS. 

Dulaney A. Forrest, A. S. Worth, 
Walter R. Butt, Chas. J. Hasker, 



Chas. Schroeder, 

Eugene H. Brown, 
John B. Brown, 
Wm. B. Brockett, 
Geo. W. City, 

J. L. Porter, Chief, 

John A. Lovitt, 

Robert M. Bain, 
John T. Rustic, 



Jno. W. Murdaugh. 
Wm. E. Wysham. 
D. W. Nash. 
John W. Tynan, 



Edward W. Manning. 

ASSISTANT ENGINEERS. 

E. Alex. Jack, Joseph E. Yirnelson, 

Leslie G. King, Jos. S. West, 

Chas. H. Levy, Thos. J. White, 

Jas. K. Langhorne, Moses P. Young. 

NAVAL CONSTRUCTORS. 

Joseph Pierce, Wm. M. Hope. 

GUNNERS. 

John Owens, Thos. Baker. 

CARPENTERS. 



Hugh Lindsay, 
R. J. Meads, 

Edward Williams. 

SAILMAKERS. 



Joseph F. Weaver, 
Nathaniel C. Gayle, 



E. A. Mahoney. 



Wm. Bennett, 

Boatswain, L. J. Nelson. 
Norfolk county was represented in the Navy by : 
Lieutenant, C. B. Poindexter. 
Assistant Surgeon, Geo. N. Halstead. 

Captain James W. Cooke, who heads this list, was born in 
North Carolina, and entered the United States Navy from that 
State, April 1st, 1828, and resigned May 1st, 1861, as lieutenant. 
He married Miss Mary Watts, of Portsmouth, which city from 

221 



222 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

that time became his home, and upon resigning from the United 
States Navy, lie tendered his services to Governor Letcher, and 
received an appointment on the 4th of May as lieutenant in the 
Virginia Navy. On the 11th of June he was transferred to the 
Confederate States Navy. His first duty in the Virginia Navy 
was in connection with the erection of a battery at Fort Powhatan 
on James river, and from there he was transferred to the Potomac 
and assisted in blockading that river in the summer of .1861. 
In the fall of 1861 he was ordered to the Gosport Navy Yard to 
take command of a small steam tug, the Ellis, formerly a canal 
boat, which was manned with one 32-pounder Dahlgren gun, and 
with this he was ordered to North Carolina as a part of Commo- 
dore Lynch's mosquito fleet. He took part in the engagement at 
Roanoke Island, February 7th, 1862, with the Federal fleet, and 
his was the last of the Confederate vessels to withdraw. He held 
his ground until he had fired away his last round of ammunition, 
when he followed Commodore Lynch to Elizabeth City. On the 
10th, when the attack was renewed at that town, the Ellis was 
boarded by the crews of two Federal vessels, and though Lieuten- 
ant Cooke received a musket wound in the arm and a bayonet 
thrust in the leg, he refused to surrender. He and his crew were 
surrounded by overwhelming numbers and taken by main force. 
He was paroled on the 12th of February and returned to his home 
in Portsmouth. He was subsequently exchanged, and on the 17th 
of September was promoted to commander. In 1863 he was or- 
dered to the Roanoke river to superintend the building of the 
ironclad gunboat Albemarle, which was being constructed at Ed- 
ward's Ferry, by Captain Gilbert Elliott, under contract with the 
Navy Department, and was indefatigable in his efforts to procure 
material with which to complete her. No stone was left unturned 
in his zeal and when he started down the river with her to engage 
the enemy, workmen were still hammering on her. The Albe- 
marle mounted two guns, and on the 19th of April, 1861, arrived 
in front of Plymouth, which was being invested on the land side 
by the troops of General Hoke. History has told how Captain 
Cooke fought and defeated the Federal vessels. How he ran his 
prow into the Southfleld, sinking her in ten minutes, and then 
drove the Miami out of the river into the sound, and was only 
prevented from destroying her by the inferiority of the machinery 
in his vessel, which was not of sufficient power to give her speed 
to overtake her. The result of this victory on the water was the 
capture of Plymouth with fifteen hundred prisoners and twenty- 
eight pieces of artillery. Relieved from the presence of the gun- 
boats, General Hoke's men stormed the enemy's works on the land 
side and carried the town by assault. Lieut. Col. G. G. Luke, of 
Portsmouth, at the head of the 56th North Carolina Regiment, 
led the assaulting column and was the first man to enter the town, 



IN THE NAVY-PORTSMOUTH. 223 

thus Portsmouth was. represented by the captain of the Albe- 
marle, on the water, and by the leader of the storming party on 
the land. 

As personal reminiscences are always interesting, and frequently 
contain minutiae which are not found in the matter of fact 
" official reports," the following account of this engagement, which 
was written by Captain Gilbert Elliott, her builder, and published 
in the St. Louis Republican of April 16th, 1887, will not be out 
of place here. Captain Elliott was, at the time he commenced 
building the Albemarle, adjutant of the 17th North Carolina Reg- 
iment, stationed near Drury's Bluff, on James river, and was given 
leave of absence from his regiment, by order of the Secretary of 
War, for that purpose. The leave of absence was " for two years 
on full pay," probably the longest leave of absence granted during 
the war. Captain Elliott says : 

" Much to my gratification Captain Cooke was the officer as- 
signed by the Navy Department to supervise the construction of, 
and afterwards command the ironclad ram Albemarle, which I 
succeeded in building, under my contract with the government, 
at a point on the Roanoke river known as Edward's Ferry, about 
twenty miles below the town of Halifax. Of course I had the 
warm sympathy of the citizens of tbat neighborhood, who ren- 
dered me all possible assistance, together with the support and aid 
of the government, and yet the difficulties with which I had to 
contend were so great as to seem almost insurmountable. How- 
ever, after twelve months' unceasing labor, with a force averag- 
ing two hundred men, but few of whom, however, were skilled 
mechanics, but all working with an eye single to the end in view, 
I had the pleasure of delivering the ship into Captain Cooke's 
hands, and she went into commission just in time to take a lead- 
ing part in the expedition organized by command of General Lee for 
the recapture of the town of Plymouth and surrounding country. 

" The Albemarle was 152 feet long, and 15 feet wide over all. 
She drew about eight feet of water. Her armament consisted of 
two rilled Brooke guns, mounted on pivot carriages, the shield or 
house, was octagonal in shape, with three port holes at each end. 
The shield was built of timber about fourteen inches in thickness 
and covered with two courses of fiat iron, two inches thick and 
eight inches wide, making eighteen inches of wood and iron as a 
protection against shot and shell. She carried a crew of seventy- 
five or eighty men. The plans and specifications were drawn and 
prepared by Naval Constructor John L. Porter, who also planned 
the conversion of the man-of-war Merrimac into the ironclad Vir- 
ginia, at the Gosport Navy yard, and, as the Virginia was the first 
vessel ever covered with an ironclad shield, it may truly be said 
that to John L. Porter largely belongs the credit for the revolu- 
tion in the naval architecture of the world, exemplified in the 



224 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

construction of that ship. The Albemarle was built on the same 
general idea, but she was intended for an ironclad, and built, from 
her keel up, for that purpose, while the Virginia was a frigate, 
with her upper works cut down or razeed. 

" On April 18th, 1864, the Albemarle dropped down the river 
stern foremost, with a long chain payed out at the bow, by means 
of which she was steered, it being impracticable to proceed down 
the stream with the bow to the front, owing to the rapidity of the 
current, the freshet at that time being the heaviest in the memory 
of the oldest inhabitants. Captain Cooke kindly allowed me to 
accompany him as a volunteer aid. Indeed I took with me a 
force of men and some portable blacksmith forges and we put the 
finishing touches on her armor only a few hours before she went 
into action. There was a Federal battery at Warren's Neck, on 
a considerable elevation, some three miles above the town of Fly- 
mouth, commanding Thoroughfare Gap, where the river divides 
into two streams, and piles, sunken vessels, and other obstructions 
with a plentiful supply of torpedoes, had been placed here to 
prevent our further descent, or to accelerate our possible descent 
to the bottom of the river, but, thanks to the high water, we 
floated safely over the obstructions and passed on down the river, 
paying no attention to the Warren's Neck fort, although a well 
directed lire was kept up against us as long as we w T ere in range. 
We were much comforted to find, however, that the shot and 
shell did us no harm, and this was the case in all the engagements 
with the ram. Her shield was built at an angle of forty-five de- 
grees, and, in time of action, was well covered with a greasy sub- 
stance we called slush, to facilitate the outward course of the shot 
and shell striking against the roof. As a rule, the shot would 
scoup out a little place in the iron roof about as large as a table 
spoon and then ricochet over the ship and go on its way harmless. 
The Albemarle was struck hundreds and hundreds of times, and 
yet no one was hurt on her except a young sailor who had the 
curiosity to put his head out of a port hole to see what was going 
on outside, and was at once shot with a pistol from the steamer 
Miami, lying along side and engaged with us at the time. Yery 
early on the morning of the 19th of April, 1864, the Miami and 
Southfield, lashed together with spars and with chains festooned 
from their sides, hove in sight, and so approached us, coming up 
the stream. The design undoubtedly, was to run the Albemarle 
down, but the pilot was equal to the occasion, and at Cooke's com- 
mand, signalled to the engineer to open the throttle-valves, and 
with all the steam the engines would bear, and the immense force 
of the current with which we were sailing, he put his helm hard 
down and dashed the prow (or ram) of the Albemarle into the 
side of the Southfield, sending her to the bottom of the Roanoke 
river with a suddenness that seems awful to contemplate. The 



IN THE NAVY— PORTSMOUTH. 225 

Miami was a fast side wheel steamer. There was a brief engage- 
ment with her, in which her commander, Lieutenant Flusser, lost 
his life. A shell fired by his own hand struck our ship, exploded 
and a fragment rebounding, killed that gallant officer. The Al- 
bemarle was then making ready to ram the Miami, if possible, 
but discretion was considered the better part of valor by the com- 
manding officer of the Miami, and he backed his vessel down the 
stream for a mile or two, then turned, and kept on his way. The 
Albemarle followed in pursuit, but the race was to the swift that 
day and the chase was soon abandoned. Plymouth fell as the re- 
sult of next day's battle, the Albemarle holding the river front 
and rendering invaluable assistance in the bombardment of the 
strongly fortified town. 

" Later on, May 5th, 1864, a most memorable engagement took 
place in the waters of Albemarle Sound, where, for the greater 
part of a day, the Albemarle contended with eight heavily armed 
Federal war vessels, some of them carrying 100-pounder Parrott 
guns. Her assailants moved around her in a circle, discharging 
broadsides as they passed. Shot and shell rained down upon her 
like hail on the roof of a house. Her smoke stack was riddled 
with holes and almost shot away. In consequence, the flues would 
not draw, and no steam could be made, propellers could not turn 
over and she lay like a log on the water. The Sassacus, a large 
double ender, ran into her, and jumped on her forward deck, 
hoping to sink tjie ram by this additional weight, but our gunner 
put a shot through one of the boilers of the Sassacus and she was 
glad to haul off with the steam made by the other. Two of the 
ships endeavored, by towing a large seine, to entangle the propel- 
lers, " but in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird," and 
Captain Cooke was able to raise a little steam, and so manoeuvred 
his ship as to escape this ingenious contrivance for her destruction. 
A bold effort was made to throw kegs of gunpowder down her 
smoke stack, but that scheme failed also. One of her two guns 
was disabled, early in the action, the muzzle being shot away. 
Night put an end to the conflict, and, with the aid of a quantity 
of lard and bacon, which was used for fuel, enough steam was 
gotten up to take the ship back to her wharf in Plymouth, and 
comparatively uninjured, although each one of the other combat- 
bants was seriously damaged, and some of them sunk. Captain 
Cooke was as cool in action as he was brave and determined. He 
did not know what fear meant and it has often been said of him 
that 'lie w T ould light a powder magazine with a coal of fire." 

Captain Cooke was promoted to captain in the navy for his 
gallantry on this occasion, and given a wider field of duty. An- 
other commander was assigned to the Albemarle, and a careless 
guard being kept on her, Lieutenant Cushing, of the United States 
Navy, sunk" her with a torpedo attached to the bow of a small 



226 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

launch, while she was lying at the wharf in Plymouth. Captain 
Cooke lived through the war, after which he returned to his home 
in Portsmouth, and died in 1809. 

Lieutenant Wm. II. Murdaugii was horn in Portsmouth, en- 
tered the United States Navy September 9th, 1841, and was ap- 
pointed in the Confederate States Navy June 26th, 1861. When 
the secession movement began at the South he was executive 
officer of the IT. S. Frigate Sabine, then stationed in Pensacola 
harbor, and upon the secession of Virginia, resigned his commis- 
sion and entered the service of that State, and afterwards the 
Confederate States. He was severely wounded at the attack upon 
Fort Hatteras by the Federal fleet on the 29th of August, 1861. 
He had command of a gun and was directing its fire when a piece 
of shell shattered his arm. He was taken from the fort to one of 
the Confederate gunboats, and thus escaped capture when the fort 
fell. After recovering from his wound he was placed in com- 
mand of the steamer Beaufort, in James river, and in 1863, was 
sent to Europe on special service for the Navy Department, and 
was there when the war ended. 

Lieutenant Walter P. Butt was born in Portsmouth, and 
served on the Virginia in her battle with the Federal fleet in 
Hampton Roads, March 8th and 9th, 1862, and subsequently 
commanded the Nansemond in James river. He entered the 
Naval Academy in 1855. 

Lieutenant Wm. E. Hudgins was born in Portsmouth, and at 
the beginning of the war was a lieutenant in the U. S. Revenue 
Service, and entered the Confederate JSTavy as a lieutenant May 
26th, 1863. He was with Captain John Taylor Wood in August, 
1863, in his boat expedition against the Federal Gunboats Satellite 
and Reliance, oil the mouth of the Rappahannock river and after 
their capture, was placed in command of the Reliance. Captain 
Wood subsequently carried them up the Rappahannock, took 
from them everything movable, and then burned them. Lieuten- 
ant Hudgins served on various vessels after that and was on duty 
with the navy in Battery Buchanan, near Fort Fisher, at the 
entrance to Wilmington harbor, on the 15th of January, 1865, 
when it was captured. He was slightly wounded on that occa- 
sion. 

Lieutenant Charles J. Hasker was a boatswain in the United 
States Navy and received a similar appointment in the Confeder- 
ate Navy. He served in that capacity on the Virginia (Merrimac) 
and was promoted to a lieutenancy for gallantry on that and sub- 
sequent occasions. 

Lieutenant Forrest was in delicate health at the beginning of 
the war and went to Western North Carolina to try to recuperate 
but died there on the 10th of April, 1S63. 

Engineers John W. Tynan and E. A. Jack, and Carpenter 



IN THE NA VY— PORTSMOUTH. 227 

Hugh Lindsay were on the Virginia in her battle in Hampton 
Roads, and Gunner John A. Lovitt served on the Patrick Henry 
in the same engagement. He and Engineer Tynan -were on the 
gunboat Chattahoochee in Florida, on the 1st of June, 1863, when 
her boiler exploded, killing fifteen of her officers and crew. The 
vessel was under command of Lieutenant John J. Guthrie at the 
time, and Midshipman Charles K. Mallory, of Norfolk, was among 
the number killed. The magazine was within about three feet of 
the boiler and the coolness of Gunner Lovitt in quelling the panic 
which ensued in consequence of this proximity and an apprehen- 
• ded explosion, was very highly commended. He was in Battery 
Buchanan during the two attacks on that fort and Fort Fisher. 

Carpenter Joseph F. Weaver was on the Seabird, Commodore 
Lynch's flagship, at the battle near Roanoke Island, February 7th, 
1862, and was captured when she was sunk at Elizabeth City, on 
the 10th, by a 9-inch Columbiad shell from one of the pursuing Fed- 
eral gunboats. He was paroled with Captain Cooke and subse- 
quently exchanged. 

Engineers Schroeder, Warner and Manning, as well as all of 
the others mentioned in the foregoing list rendered efficient ser- 
vices to the Southern Confederacy, and lived to see the termina- 
tion of the war. 

Engineer Schroeder made a cruise on the Tallahassee with Cap- 
tain Wilkerson, was one of the officers sent to Canada on the 
expedition to release the Confederate prisoners confined on John- 
son's Island, and was afterwards sent to Europe to assist in pro- 
curing and fitting out cruisers for the navy. 

On the 30th of April, 1863, Congress passed a special act " to 
authorize the appointment of one Chief Constructor in the Navy. 1 ' 
It was passed as a recognition of the services of Naval Constructor 
John L. Porter, and he was appointed to it by President Davis. 
Constructor Porter designed several sea-going ironclads, which the 
Navy Department endeavored to have built in Europe. The 
principal one was a powerful vessel, with a center turret contain- 
ing ten guns, and sheathed with iron ten inches thick. The Navy 
Department made a contract with G. N. Saunders, Esq., to build 
her in England, but the war ended before she was completed. 
Her bow projected forward under water, and was built solid for 
about fifteen or twenty feet back from the stem, so as to serve for 
a ram. He designed another, with hinged gunwales, which could 
be raised or lowered at pleasure. 



CHAPTEK XXX. 

OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY, APRIL, 1861, TO MAY 10, 1862. 

When this work was commenced and it was thought by the 
author that he would be compelled to rely solely upon the mem- 
ory of the survivors of the war for what he might write, he 
feared it would be impossible for him to obtain from that source 
a sufficient amount of data pertaining to the troops who entered 
the Confederate service from Norfolk city, to do them justice, 
hence, his original attention was to leave them out entirely, for 
the reason that faint praise would be worse than none at all, but 
since then he has had an opportunity to inspect the muster rolls 
and official records of the various companies from their original 
muster into service until the 1st of January, 1865, and has, there- 
fore, found himself in a position to record as accurately as an 
official report tells it, the story of those who marched away with 
their commands on the 10th of May, 1862, at the evacuation of 
the city, and did service in the field. After January 1st, 1865, 
the official records cease, and what appears upon the rolls of the 
different companies after that time has been supplied from mem- 
ory. 

Before the war the sentiment of a majority of the people of 
Norfolk city was opposed to the secession of the State, and at the 
election to send a delegate to the State Convention, which had 
been called to consider the situation, held February 4th, 1861, 
General George Blow was elected as a union delegate, over Mr. 
James R. Hubard, secessionist, by a majority of 480, out of 1,434 
votes cast. After President Lincoln's proclamation, calling for 
75,000 troops to coerce the States which had seceded, General 
Blow .voted with the majority in favor of the passage of the ordi- 
nance of secession, under instructions from a mass meeting held 
April 4th. 

Before the State had seceded the war fever was gathering force 
in Norfolk, and the news of the attack upon Fort Sumpter, April 
11th, augmented it to a still greater degree of fervor, so that on 
the 19th of April, when General Taliaferro arrived in the city to 
take command of the State troops and it was evident that there 
was going to be war, the citizens, with singular unanimity, acqui- 
esced in the inevitable and girded themselves for the contest. 

Before the beginning of hostilities there were in Norfolk city 
the following military companies, fully equipped with everything 
except ammunition : 

The Norfolk Light Artillery Blues, Captain Jacob Vickery. 

The Woodis Riflemen, Captain Wm. Lamb. 

228 



OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 229 

The Norfolk Juniors, Captain F. F. Ferguson. 

The Independent Grays, Captain Richard C. Taylor. 

Company F, Captain II. W. Williamson. 

All of these companies had full ranks, and in order to accom- 
modate the hundreds who were desirous of responding to the call 
of the Governor, new companies were organized rapidly, as fol- 
lows : 

The United Artillery Company, Captain Thomas Kevill. 

The Norfolk Light Artillery, Captain Francis Huger. 

The Atlantic Artillery, Captain J. Hardy Hendren. 

The Norfolk Light Infantry, Captain John R. Ludlow. 

Company A, 6th Regiment, Captain Wm. N. McKenny. 

The Norfolk Harbor Guard, Captain John J. Young. 

Among these companies were quite a number of Norfolk county 
men from the Tanner's Creek section, but as they enlisted in the 
city, they cannot, at this late day, be fully identified. 

On the night of the 19th of April, 1861, the Norfolk military 
companies took possession of Fort Norfolk, which was then used 
as a powder magazine, and the powder therein stored, amounting 
to live hundred barrels, or fifty thousand pounds, was placed on 
board the revenue schooner James Buchanan, and sent to Rich- 
mond, under guard, for safe keeping. 

On the afternoon of the 20th all was bustle and excitement in 
Norfolk, and the " Pawnee war " raged there that night as well 
as in Portsmouth. That afternoon some unauthorized persons 
began sinking obstructions in the river below Fort Norfolk for 
the purpose of shutting in the Federal authorities at the navyyard 
and thus preventing them from removing the vessels and the vast 
amount of valuable war material which was on hand. This fact, 
coming to the knowledge of Commodore McCauly, commanding 
the navyyard, hastened his departure and the destruction of the 
navyyard. 

General Taliaferro, who was sent to Norfolk at the beginning 
of hostilities to command and organize the State troops, was trans- 
ferred to Gloucester Point, and on the 25th of April, General 
Walter Gwynn, an old army officer, assumed command, and in 
turn was relieved by General Huger, May 23d. In the meantime 
troops from all portions of the South were pouring into the city, 
and batteries were erected at SeawelFs Point, Boush's Bluff and 
Fort Norfolk, and a line of entrenchments, with embrasures for 
heavy artillery, was thrown up back of the city to resist an attack 
from the direction of Fortress Monroe, should one be made. The 
Norfolk companies were assigned to regiments as follows : 

Captain W. N. McKenny's Company to the 6th Yirginia Regi- 
ment as Company A. 

The Woodis Rifles to the 6th Yirginia Regiment as Com- 
pany C. 



230 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

The Norfolk Light Infantry to the 6th Virginia Regiment as 
Company D. 

Company F to the 6th Virginia Regiment as Company G. 

The Independent Grays to the 6th Virginia Regiment as Com- 
pany H. 

The Juniors to the 12th Virginia Regiment as Company H. 

The Norfolk Light Artillery Bines, to the 16th Virginia Regi- 
ment as Company II. 

The United Artillery to the -list Virginia Regiment as Com- 
pany E. 

Norfolk Light Artillery — unattached. 

The Norfolk Harbor Guard — unattached. 

The Atlantic Artillery — unattached. 

In this connection it would not be out of place to give a brief 
history of the military movements in the vicinity of Norfolk prior 
to and which led to its evacuation by the Confederates. 

On the 19th of May, while detachments from the Blues, Ju- 
niors and the Woodis Rifles, of Norfolk, and the Columbus Light 
Guard, of Georgia, were at work upon the battery at Seawell's 
Point, and before it was completed, only three guns having been 
mounted and the sand blocking up the embrasures, the United 
States Steamer Monticello opened lire upon it. The fire was 
briskly returned by the fort and after a short engagement .the 
Monticello hauled off. No one in the fort was injured. Captain 
Colcpiit, of the Columbus Light Guard, commanded the Confed- 
erates, and for want of a Confederate States flag, the battle was 
fought under the Georgia State fla^, belonging to the Lisdit 
Guard. During the firing the men had to work in front of the 
embrasures shoveling away the sand so that the guns could have 
play. Captain Win. Lamb commanded the Woodis Rifles and 
the detachments from the Blues and Juniors were under Lieuten- 
ants W. T. Peet and John Holmes respectively. The bombard- 
ment was resumed by the Monticello on the 21st, but with like 
result. ' This was the second en«;ao;ement in Virginia between the 
si lore batteries and the Federal vessels, and the Norfolk boys, as 
well as the Georgians, were not alarmed at the bursting of the 
big shells, but stood their ground manfully. 

During the winter of 1861-2, the soldiers from the far South, 
who were quartered near Norfolk, would have suffered severely 
from the cold, but for the patriotism and benevolence of the ladies 
of the city, who organized themselves into sewing circles, and by 
these and other means, raised funds to provide them with shoes, 
overcoats and blankets, necessaries which the Confederate author- 
ities had not the means of supplying. 

Two companies were started in N orf oik but failed of organiza- 
tion for want of sufficient numbers. These were the Old Domin- 
ion State Guard, of which Captain Charles B. Langley was elected 



OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 231 

commander, and the Lee Artillery, Captain James Y. Leigh. 
The name of the first company was afterwards changed to the 
Harris Guards, but neither was mustered into service. The men 
whose names were enrolled enlisted in other commands. 

It was the intention of the United States Government to fortify 
and retain possession of the navy yard, and on the 19th of April 
General Scott ordered Captain H. E. Wright, of the engineers, to 
call at Fortress Monroe, get from Colonel Dimick, its commander, 
a regiment of troops, reinforce Commodore McCauley, and pre- 
pare for the defence of the yard. Captain Wright arrived at 
Fortress Monroe on the Pawnee, on the 20th, and Colonel Dimick 
placed at his command a regiment of 370 men under Colonel 
Wardrop. With this force lie embarked on the Pawnee and 
reached the navy yard about dark that evening. He found that 
most of the vessels had already been scuttled and that Commodore 
McCauley was disposed to defend the navy yard to the last ex- 
tremity. Accordingly the troops were landed and some prepara- 
tions made for defence, but Commodore Paulding, who came from 
Washington on the Pawnee, decided to finish the destruction of 
the yard and evacuate it. Captain Wright and Commander Jno. 
Rogers were sent to blow up the dry dock, taking with them forty 
soldiers and a boat's crew from the Pawnee. From Captain 
Wright's report, which is somewhat confused and conflicting, he 
seems to have been considerably demoralized by the situation. 
His description of the arrangements for blowing up the dock does 
not tally with what the Virginia troops found there the next 
morning, but this may be accounted for by the supposition that 
he ordered such arrangements to be made and supposed his subor- 
dinates had carried out his orders. He said, when everything 
was ready, he sent away all of the men except one seaman from 
the Pawnee, and then they lighted four slow matches, the dock 
having been mined with 2,000 pounds of pow T der. Captain 
Wright and Commander Rogers, from Captain Wright's report, 
seem to have been left behind, among the burning buildings, after 
everybody else had gone, and made their way out of the main 
gateway, through the fire, seized a boat, imagined themselves 
fired upon from Portsmouth, saw in the darkness a large military 
force collecting against them " at a point below, where the river 
was narrow," and therefore concluded to land in Norfolk and sur- 
render to General Taliaferro. They were kindly treated, for- 
warded to Richmond the next day and from there sent to Wash- 
ington. To quiet their fears that they would be assailed by the 
people of Richmond, Governer Letcher escorted them to the cars 
and sent a couple of officers with them to Washington. Evi- 
dently " the man from the Pawnee " did not light the fuses, for 
the mine was not exploded, nor w r ere the fuses found. Captain 
Wright's report omits to state what became of this man. A very 



232 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

well authenticated account of tlie dry-dock affair will be found in 
chapter I, ante. 

The last mail from Baltimore was received in Norfolk on the 
9 th of May, though the port had been declared in a state of block- 
ade earlier. The steamer arrived at Fortress Monroe from Balti- 
more that morning, and the Norfolk mail was sent up on the 
William Selden, which was sent to Fortress Monroe for it, but the 
Confederates did not send her down again. They detained her 
in Norfolk and would not permit her to return, for fear that she 
would be seized by the United States authorities. The army and 
navy officers in the department of Norfolk did not get on harmo- 
niously together at first, and there was a warm dispute between 
General Gwynn and Commodore Forrest as to the possession and 
control of the property in the navy yard. General Gwynn com- 
plained to the Governor that he had been unable to obtain an in- 
ventory of the stores, &c, in the navy yard. General Lee, com- 
manding the State forces, advised mutual concessions, and the 
breech was smoothed over. General Gwynn was relieved by 
General Benjamin linger on the 23d of May. 

Shortly after the breaking out of the war, the Confederates be- 
gan fortifying the Nansemond river, but it was difficult to reach 
the batteries there from Norfolk, for the reason that the United 
States vessels controlled Hampton Roads, but on the night of the 
5th of June Captain A. Sinclair, of the navy, commanding the 
small steamer Roanoke, eluded them and ran his boat into the 
river and established communications between the batteries and 
the railroad at Suffolk. 

On the 15th of June, Saturday, the Federals opened fire upon 
the batteries at Seawell's Point with a Sawyer gun, w T hich they 
had mounted at the Rip-Raps, and General Huger sent down to 
that point a lot of railroad iron to shield the magazine and the 
face of the batteries. The distance from the Point to the Rip- 
Raps, as measured by the engineers, was 3 5-8 miles. 

On the 23d of April Governor Letcher appointed General R. 
E. Lee to command the State troops, and on the 10th of May the 
Secretary of War, Mr. L. P. Walker, placed all of the Confeder- 
ate troops in Virginia temporarily under his orders. Colonel 
Talcott, of the engineers, reported to General Lee on the 26th of 
April that " seven guns had been mounted on the battery at the 
Naval Hospital ; that at 10:30 a. m. on the 22d he commenced, 
with one hundred and twenty laborers, to build a work on Craney 
Island to mount twenty guns. A battery to mount twelve guns 
has been laid out on Pinner's Point. The work on this is under 
control of officers of the navy. [It was built under the supervi- 
sion of Major F. W. Jett, of the Confederate Engineers.] The 
works in progress will mount sixty-one guns when completed. 
Of these, fourteen will be at the Naval Hospital, fifteen at Fort 



OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 233 

Norfolk, twelve at Pinner's Point, and twenty at Craney Island." 

On the 27th, two eight inch shell guns and eight 32-pounders 
were ready for action at the Naval Hospital, with furnaces and 
fuel for heating shot. The work on the Pinner's Point battery 
was commenced that day. On the 26th four 9-inch Columbiads, 
with fifty rounds of ammunition for each gun, were sent to Craney 
Island and mounted. Colonel Talcott did not think very highly 
of Sea well's Point as a place for the erection of batteries. In his 
report he calls it Soller's Point. 

General Lee recommended to General Gwynn the advisability 
of employing the naval officers in the construction and service of 
water batteries, or such as were intended to act against shipping, 
and in consequence thereof naval officers were stationed at all of 
the batteries around the harbor to instruct the men in the use of 
heavy guns. General Gwynn was constantly under apprehension 
of an attack upon Norfolk by the Federal forces at Fortress Mon- 
roe, and in reply to urgent letters from him for reinforcements, 
General Lee authorized him to recruic from the counties of Prin- 
cess Anne, Norfolk, Nansemond, Southampton and Greensville, 
and the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth., six regimenfc of infan- 
try and artillery and four companies of cavalry, and on the 4th of 
May, at the request of Governor Letcher, all of the Geoi gia troops 
in and around Richmond were ordered to Norfolk. These were 
the 4th and 22d Regiments. The 3d Regiment and 2d Battalion 
had previously arrived direct from Georgia. General Gwynn 
wrote to Adjutant General Garnett in Richmond for 100,000 
rounds of ammunition. General Garnett sent him 25,000, and 
suggested, as there was an abundance of powder and lead in Nor- 
folk, that General Gwynn had better make arrangements to man- 
ufacture his own cartridges, as they were doing in Richmond. 

On the 8th of May General Lee ordered the 1st Louisiana Reg- 
iment, Colonel A. G. Blanchard, from Richmond to Norfolk, and 
on the 14th General Gwynn reported that he had 6,000 troops 
and wanted 4,000 more, and on the 21st he reported that the en- 
emy was reinforcing Fortress Monroe and asked for 4,000 more 
troops. Singularly, while General Gwynn was apprehending an 
attack from the garrison at Fortress Monroe the commander of 
that fort was writing to Washington for reinforcements to repel 
an apprehended attack by the Confederates. 

On the 27th of May General Huger, who had relieved General 
Gwynn in the command of Norfolk, reported to General Lee 
that seven transports had that day landed troops at Newport 
News, and the same day General Magruder reported a force va- 
riously estimated at from 3,500 to 5,000 men had marched to that 
point from Fortress Monroe. General Lee became apprehensive 
that the accumulation of such a large force there was for the pur- 
pose of operating against Suffolk, either by way of the Nanse- 

16 



234 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5 

mond river or by crossing at Burwell's Bay, thus cutting off com- 
munication between Norfolk and Richmond, hence he directed 
General Huger to look particularly to the defence of the battery 
at Pig Point, to guard it against surprise or from an attack in the 
rear, and at the same time endeavored to collect a force at Suf- 
folk. On the 27th General Huger divided the department into 
two military districts. The Norfolk division, or east of the Eliz- 
abeth river, was placed under command of Colonel Withers of 
the 3d Alabama Regiment, and the Portsmouth division, or west 
of the river, under Colonel Blanchard of the 1st Louisiana Regi- 
ment. Colonel Withers had under him the 3d Alabama Regi- 
ment, 2d Georgia Battalion, and the 6th, 12th, 16th and 41st Vir- 
ginia Regiments. Colonel Blanchard's command embraced the 
1st Louisiana, 3d, 4th and 22d Georgia, 3d and 9th Virginia Reg- 
iments, 2d North Carolina Battalion and 3d Louisiana "Battalion. 

General Linger was a man of high character, of undaunted 
courage, and an excellent ordnance officer, but lacked those pecu- 
liar qualifications which fit an officer to defend a post and com- 
mand troops in the field, and from this sprang an Iliad of woes 
to the Confederacy which brought down upon himself the censure 
of the Confederate Congress. 

On the 8th of June the Virginia troops which up to that time 
had been serving under orders from Governor Letcher, were 
turned over to the Confederate States Army. General Huger's 
district extended over the eastern counties of North Carolina 
from Weldon to the ocean, but being unacquainted with the to- 
pography of his district, and on account of his age not possessing 
the necessary activity to familiarize himself with it from a per- 
sonal inspection, the Confederates suffered disaster after disaster, 
which possibly might have been avoided had proper precautions 
been taken. A perusal of the correspondence which passed be- 
tween the subordinate commanders in North Carolina and the 
headquarters in Norfolk and Richmond indicates that there was 
a lamentable lack of judgment on the part of those in authority, 
if we may judge by results. 

A powerful fleet was being fitted out in the North in August, 
1861, and was gathering at Fortress Monroe. It destination was 
known to be Hatteras Inlet, yet no material effort was made to 
strengthen the little fort there, nor to reinforce it, but it was left 
to a small force of undisciplined North Carolina troops, badly 
drilled, with no experience in the use of heavy guns and with 
only guns of short range and light caliber to resist almost the 
whole navy of the United States government and a heavy land 
force. There could be but one result, the fort surrendered after 
a two days' bombardment by the fleet, which, anchored beyond 
the range of the guns of the fort, was unhurt. The fort was so 
badly constructed that the men had no shelter from the shells, 



OPERA Tl ONS ARO UND NORFOLK CITY. 235 

which penetrated its walls or fell inside. This disaster occurred 
•on the 29th of August, 1861, and opened to the Federal navy the 
waters of Pamlico Sound. 

The next move of importance in that section was not made 
until the following February, so that the Confederates had from 
August to that date, nearly six months, to guard against further 
disaster. Had there been machinery or armor plate in the Con- 
federacy with which to have equipped two iron-clad boats like the 
Albemarle, which was subsequently built, Hatteras could have 
been retaken and Norfolk held. The disasters at Roanoke Island, 
Newberne and Fort Macon would have been avoided, and the 
troops which Avere sent to oppose Burnside in Carolina could have 
been retained in Virginia against McClellan. 

After the fort at Hatteras had been captured General Huger 
sent the 3d Georgia Regiment to reinforce it. There was a 
lamentable scarcity of transportation in that locality. Commo- 
dore Lynch of the navy being impatient at the want of suitable 
vessels for gunboats, got possession of nearly all of the tugs and 
small steamers in the sound and mounted guns upon them. They 
were valueless as gunboats, but might have been serviceable as 
army transports, but transposing them into so-called men-of-war 
deprived the army of their use, without adding anything to the 
strength of the navy, as subsequent events fully developed. 

Colonel Wright of the Third Georgia Regiment, finding Fort 
Hatteras in possession of the enemy, stopped his regiment at Ro- 
anoke Island and began fortifying it to prevent the enemy from 
getting into Albemarle Sound, a movement which they were 
prevented from making at the time on account of the shallow- 
ness of the water in Pamlico Sound and the depth of the vessels 
in their fleet. 

The importance of defending Roanoke Island, as the key to 
the defence of Norfolk, was urged upon General Huger and Sec- 
retary of War Benjamin in the summer and fall of 1861 by Gen- 
eral Gatlin and Governor Clarke of North Carolina, but their 
recommendations were almost wholly disregarded. In December, 
1861, by an order from the War Department the island was 
placed under the orders of General Huger and General Wise was 
sent there to command it. General Wise, time and time again 
urged upon General Huger and Secretary Benjamin the necessity 
of putting it in a proper state of defence and of reinforcing it 
with additional troops, but nothing seems to have been done by 
either of them towards carrying out the recommendation. Gen- 
eral Huger had 15,000 well drilled and well armed troops around 
Norfolk, but it does not seem to have occurred to him that they 
could best protect Norfolk by being sent where the enemy was 
about to attack. In December he ordered the 3d Georgia back 
to Portsmouth, leaving on the island about 400 men of Wise's 



236 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Legion and 1,800 raw levies of North Carolina troops, badly 
drilled, undisciplined and badly armed. In reply to General 
Wise's urgent call for reinforcements lie wrote : " You want sup- 
plies, bard work and coolness and not men," and on the 13th of 
January, 1862, he wrote: "I do not consider large forces neces- 
sary for the defence of the island. If the batteries can keep off 
the gunboats and transports the infantry will have little opportu- 
nity to act." And in a letter of the 18th to the Secretary of War 
he wrote that he "had no personal knowledge of the positions on 
the island." 

In reply to a letter from General Wise to the Secretary of War 
for a supply of ammunition that officer wrote on the 12th of Jan- 
uary : " At the first indication of an attack upon Roanoke Island 
a supply will be sent you." General Wise replied if they were 
to wait to be attacked before receiving powder from Richmond, 
the attack would be their capture, and defeat would precede the 
arrival of ammunition. This prediction was verified as to the 
navy. 

A supply of ammunition for Commodore Lynch's fleet, sent 
to him from the Navy Yard, did not start until after the battle 
was over. Colonel Talcott of the Engineers reported to General 
Huger that the island was in an indefensible condition and needed 
guns, ammunition and men, but no action was taken upon his re- 
port. Early in December Commodore Forrest was applied to for 
pile drivers to drive piles across the channel to obstruct the pas- 
sage of the Federal gunboats, and promised to send them, but 
Colonel Shaw, commanding the island, reported to General Wise 
that they had not arrived by the 30th and that Commodore For- 
rest's reason for the delay was that the men wanted to spend their 
Christmas holidays at home. One pile driver arrived on the 6th 
of January, and on the 7th of February, when the attack was 
made, there were still 1,700 yards of the sound open. All of the 
tugboats in the vicinity but one had been converted into gun- 
boats, and that one, with two large barges, which General Wise 
held for transportation, was ordered away from him by General 
Huger just as the battle was about to commence, which left him 
no means of retreating from the island in case of defeat. Thus 
the garrison was shut up on the island and ordered to defend it, 
while they were denied the means with which to make the de- 
fence or of escape in case of defeat. The batteries were built on 
the west or Croatan side of the island, near the north end of it. 
The Governor of North Carolina applied to Secretary Mallory of 
the Navy for four rifled cannon for the defence of the island, but 
failed to get them, and, to add to the blunders which led to the 
disaster, General Huger's countermanding General Wise's order, 
lost the garrison the use of the six field pieces belonging to the 
Wise Legion. They were in Norfolk under command of Colonel 



OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 237 

ITenningsen, and General Wise ordered him to charter a steamer 
in Norfolk to bring the guns and ammunition to the island, and 
to march the horses down the Currituck beach directly to Nag's 
Head, but General Huger countermanded General Wise's order, 
ordered Colonel Henningsen to hitch up his horses to his guns, 
march the battery to Powell's Point and transport them from 
there to the island, but upon reaching Powell's Point Colonel 
Henningsen found himself fifteen or twenty miles from Roanoke 
Island, with Albemarle Sound between them and no means of 
getting across. The result of this blunder was that the battle was 
fought, the island lost, and this important force was powerless to 
render any assistance to their comrades. 

The enemy made their appearance before Roanoke Island on 
the 7th of February, 1862, with about thirty gunboats and a force 
of transports, and opened fire on the shore batteries, taking up a 
position upon which the batteries could bring only three guns to 
bear, one rifle and two smooth bore 32-pounders. They also 
landed 10,000 men on the island, below the batteries. The fire 
upon the batteries was kept up all day, but no damage was done 
to them. During the engagement Commodore Lynch's fleet of 
tugboats, from a position near the main land, made a gallant fight 
with a portion of the enemy's fleet, and after firing away all of 
their ammunition, and having two boats sunk, fell back to Eliza- 
beth City. The next morning the bombardment of the battery 
was resumed, and the land forces, marching up from the south 
end of the island, met the troops which were there to defend it, 
and, as might have been expected, defeated them, and, getting 
in rear of the batteries, compelled their evacuation, as they had 
no rear protection. Colonel Shaw fell back to the north end of 
the island, and finding there was no boat by which his garrison could 
be taken off, and knowing that his small, undisciplined force, 
badly armed and without artillery, could not successfully contend 
against the overwhelming force which was following them, de- 
cided to surrender, and thus was opened the gateway to the rear 
of Norfolk, which should have been kept closed, and would have 
been had the island been properly garrisoned and fortified. Lieuten- 
ant William Selden of Norfolk was in the engagement of the 8th 
and was very favorably mentioned in the official report. He was 
in charge of a six-pounder boat howitzer and was shot in the fore- 
head by a minie ball just as he was tiring his last round of ammu- 
nition at the enemy. The Confederate loss in the battle was 23 
killed, 58 wounded and about 2,500 captured. The Federals lost 
37 killed, 214 wounded and 13 missing. 

The Confederate Congress appointed a committee to investi- 
gate the disaster, and their report says the cause of the disaster 
and defeat was "the want of necessary defences on the island, the 
want of necessary field artillery, armament and ammunition, and 



238 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

the great and unpardonable deficiency of men, together with the 
entire want of transportation by which the whole command might 
have been conveyed from the island after the defeat at the bat- 
tery." After exonerating General Wise from blame the report 
goes on to say: "But the committee cannot say the same in ref- 
erence to the efforts of the Secretary of War and the command- 
ing officer at Norfolk, General Huger. It is apparent that the 
island of Roanoke is necessary for the defence of Norfolk, and 
that General Hnger had under his command at that point up- 
wards of 15,000 men, a large supply of armament and ammuni- 
tion, and could have thrown in a few hours a large reinforcement 
upon Roanoke Island, and that himself and the Secretary of War 
had timely notice of the entire inadequacy of the defences, the 
want of men and munitions of war, and the threatening attitude 
of the enemy. But General Huger and the Secretary of War 
paid no practical attention to those urgent appeals of General 
Wise, sent forward none of his important requisitions, and per- 
mitted General Wise and his inconsiderable force to remain and 
meet at least 15,000 men well armed and equipped. If the Sec- 
retary of War and the commanding General at Norfolk had not 
the means to reinforce General Wise why was he not ordered to 
abandon his position and save his command ? But, on the con- 
trary, he was required to remain and sacrifice his command, with 
no means in his insulated position to make his escape in case of 
defeat. The committee, from the testimony, are therefore con- 
strained to report that whatever of blame and responsibility is 
justly attributable to any one for the defeat of our troops at Roa- 
noke Island on February 8th, 1862, should attach to Major Gen- 
eral B. Huger and the late Secretary of War, J. P. Benjamin." 

The fall of Roanoke Island has been treated of so extensively 
in this connection for the reason that to it was due the evacuation 
of Norfolk and Portsmouth by the Confederates the May follow- 
ing. It opened up to the incursions of the enemy the whole of 
Eastern North Carolina and compelled the Confederates to main- 
tain a large army there to protect the Weldon and Wilmington 
railroad. This large detachment of troops from the army in Vir- 
ginia weakened it so that it was impossible, in the opinion of the 
Confederate authorities in Richmond to spare troops enough to 
protect Norfolk both in front from Fortress Monroe and in rear 
from the direction of Elizabeth City, Edenton and the Blackwater 
river, hence it was abandoned. 

It will be remembered that the 3d Georgia Regiment was sent 
by General Huger to Hatteras too late to be of service there, and 
that Colonel Wright stopped at Roanoke Island. On the 14th of 
October Colonel Wright, with 150 men from his regiment, em- 
barked on three vessels from Commodore Lynch's fleet, the Ra- 
leigh, Curlew and Junaluska, under the Commodore, and started 



OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 239 

towards Chicamicomico. The expedition captured the tug Fanny 
and forty -seven prisoners. The Fanny was armed with two rifle 
guns, and Commodore Lynch added her to his fleet. On the 4th 
Colonel Wright started again with his regiment to capture the 
20th Indiana Regiment, which had advanced from Hatteras to 
Chicamicomico, and effected a landing, but the Indianians ran so 
swiftly that by the utmost efforts of the Georgians they could not 
overtake them. A number of stragglers were picked up in the 
chase, and the Georgians lost one man, who died from exhaustion 
in his effort to overtake the fleeing foe. General Wool reported 
to General Scott that the Indiana Regiment "completely de- 
feated" the Georgians. So much for official reports. 

About the 1st of December the 3d Georgia Regiment was or- 
dered back to Portsmouth and its place on Roanoke Island was 
taken by a newly organized regiment of North Carolina troops. 

During the summer and fall of 1861 no effort was made by the 
Confederates to recapture Fort Hatteras, though it was weakly 
garrisoned, and though Governor Clarke of North Carolina was 
constantly urging it. On the 19th of September the Federal gar- 
rison consisted of only 916 men. General Wool, too, was expect- 
ing them to recapture it, and was constantly urging upon the Fed- 
eral government the importance of strengthening the garrison if 
it was intended to hold the place. But General Hnger had his 
eye fixed upon Fortress Monroe, and could see nothing but an ex- 
pected landing of Federals at Ocean View On the 5th of Sep- 
tember Adjutant General Cooper telegraphed to know if he could 
not spare the sailors at the Navy Yard to be sent to the North 
Carolina Sounds, and he replied that he could not spare a single 
man, that he needed two more regiments. On the 30th 
of November his muster rolls showed an aggregate present of 13,- 
451, and on the rolls, absent and present, 15,143. January, 1862, 
he had present 15,352. Present and absent, 16,761. He had 
also 24 held pieces and 192 heavy guns, of which 46 were in the 
vicinity of Suffolk. 

On the 6th of December orders were received from Richmond 
to make all of the batteries around the harbor bomb proof, and 
on the 7th of January, 1862, General Huger reported to the Sec- 
retary of War the following naval officers on duty in the batte- 
ries, with their respective ranks under the act of Congress allow- 
ing army rank to naval officers on duty with the army. 

Commander R. F. Pinkney, commanding Fort Norfolk and 
inspector of batteries, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. 

Commander Charles F. Mcintosh, commanding Fort Nelson, 
Lieutenant-Colonel. 

Commander W. L. Maury, commanding Seawell's Point bat- 
tery, Lieutenant-Colonel. 

Lieutenant G. W. Harrison, commanding Pinner's Point Bat- 
tery, Major. 



240 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Lieutenant R. R. Carter, commanding Pig Point battery, Ma- 
jor. 

Lieutenant B. P. Loyall, assigned to Roanoke Island, Captain. 

Lieutenant J. S. Taylor, assigned to Roanoke Island, to rank as 
Major. 

The Monitor, iron clad, was expected to arrive at Fortress Mon- 
roe the latter part of February, and General McClellan desired 
General Wool to make use of her to capture Norfolk. General 
Wool informed the Secretary that with 20,000 men and four bat- 
teries in addition to the force he then had at Fortress Monroe, 
of 11,000 men and two batteries, with the co-operation of the 
navy and of General Burnside's forces from North Carolina op- 
erating on its rear, he thought he could capture it. McClellan 
urged upon him specially to capture the batteries at Seawell's 
Point and spike the guns. 

On the 16th of February, 1862, General Bnrnside sent an ex- 
pedition up the Chowan river for the purpose of burning the Sea- 
board and Roanoke railroad bridges across the Blackwater and 
Nottoway rivers. It reached Winton on the 17th and had an en- 
gagement with the 1st North Carolina Battalion, under Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Williams, and a battery of artillery, and fell back. 
During the night Lieutenant-Colonel Williams also fell baek, and 
the next day the gunboats returned and burned Winton. The 
Richmond authorities then became very apprehensive for the 
safety of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and on the 27th General Hu- 
ger was ordered to put the two cities under martial law, to enroll 
all the militia capable of doing military duty, and to make ar- 
rangements to remove the women and children and all other 
persons who would embarrass their defence in case of a siege. 

General Burnside continued active in his demonstrations in 
North Carolina, and General Lee continued apprehensive of a 
joint movement from Edenton and Newport News upon Suffolk, 
and about the 1st of March the 14th and 53d Virginia, 2d Louis- 
iana, 15th North Carolina, and 16th Georgia Regiments and 
Cobb's Georgia Legion, with Moseley's battery of artillery, were 
conveyed to that town from General Magruder's army on the Pe- 
ninsula. They took steamers from King's Mill for City Point, 
and were conveyed thence by rail to Suffolk, reaching there on 
the 4th. The detachment numbered about 5,000 men, and on 
the 8th General Huger crossed the 3d Alabama from Norfolk to 
Portsmouth, near the Seaboard railroad, to be accessible in case 
there should be need at Suffolk. 

On the 8th and 9th of March the iron-clad Virginia (Merrimac) 
had her battles in Hampton Roads, and the result of the second 
day's battle, the battle between the Virginia and Monitor, alarmed 
both General linger and the Federal authorities. General Huger 
recommended that the narrow passage left in the channel below 



OPERATIONS'AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 241 

Lambert's Point be closed with obstructions, so as to prevent the 
Monitor from coming up to Norfolk, and Secretary Wells of the 
United States Navy, wanted General "Wool to tow some vessels 
loaded with stone to Seawell's Point and sink them in the chan- 
nel there to prevent the Virginia from coming out again. Gen- 
eral Huger's recommendation was disapproved by the Secretary 
of War at Richmond, who told him that the Federals were so 
alarmed about the Virginia that they would not venture to enter 
the harbor. The Secretary of War was correct, and the Federals 
abandoned the idea of attacking the harbor from that side. As- 
sistant Secretary of the Navy G. V. Fox wrote to General Mc- 
Clellan on the 13th as follows: 

" The Monitor is more than a match for the Merrimac, but she 
might be disabled in the next encounter. I cannot advise so 
great dependence on her. Burnside and Goldsboro are very 
strong for the Chowan river route to Norfolk, and I brought up 
maps, (fee, to show you. It turns everything, and is only twenty- 
seven miles to Norfolk by two good roads. The Monitor may, 
and I think will, destroy the Merrimac in the next fight, but this 
is hope, not certainty." 

See what a train of events followed the failure of Secretary 
Mallory to take the advice of Naval Constructor John L. Porter 
in June, 1861, to import armor irofi and steam engines for iro'n- 
clad gunboats. Two of them in Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds 
would have been worth more than 30,000 men. 

On the 10th of February, two days after the fall of Roanoke Is- 
land, the 6th Virginia Regiment, under Colonel Thos. J. Cor- 
prew, was sent to Currituck Bridge, the eastern entrance to the 
Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, and the 3d Georgia Regiment 
was sent back to South Mills, the Carolina end of the Dismal 
Swamp Canal. A day or two afterwards, General Wise, falling 
back from Nag's Head with the remnant of his brigade, met the 
6th Virginia Regiment at Currituck Bridge, took command and 
fell back to Great Bridge, taking the 6th Regiment with him. 
General Huger found him there, and requested the Secretary of 
War to detach him and his brigade from the division. Accord- 
ingly, on the 18th, General Wise was ordered to report with his 
infantry to General Joseph E. Johnston, at Manassas, and on the 
20th turned over the post at Great Bridge and his artillery to 
General Mahone. 

Colonel Wright pushed on towards Elizabeth City, and formed 
a junction with McComas' Battery of the Wise Legion, the South- 
ampton Cavalry, Captain Gillett, and two companies of North 
Carolina militia, and on the 19th of April fought the battle of 
South Mills, or Sawyer's Lane, or Camden. General Reno, with 
five regiments, the 21st Massachusetts, 51st Pennsylvania, 6th 
New Hampshire, and 9th and 89th New York, and a detachment 



242 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

of the 1st New York Marine Artillery, with six boat howitzers, 
the whole numbering about 4,000 men, landed at Elizabeth City 
and started towards South Mills to destroy the canal locks to pre- 
vent the passage of iron clads, which, it was reported to them, 
were nearly ready at the navy yard at Portsmouth, for service in 
the North Carolina sounds. Colonel Wright formed six compa- 
nies of his regiment in an advantageous position across the main 
road, with his flanks protected by a thick wood and swamp, placed 
two of McComas' guns in the road, and awaited the approach of 
the enemy. There was a large open field in front, ancl in this the 
battle was fought. Colonel Wright sent the rest of his command 
to the rear as a reserve and to guard a bridge across the Pasquo- 
tank river, in case there should be any attempt to cross from that 
direction to his rear. The enemy began the attack about 12 
o'clock, and continued it, with occasional intermissions, as their 
assaults were repulsed, for about four hours. Several attempts to 
turn the flanks, as well as to attack in front, were defeated by the 
firing of artillery and infantry, and after the final repulse of the 
enemy, Colonel Wright fell back to his entrenchments, about two 
miles in the rear, and the enemy retreated to Elizabeth City and 
embarked immediately. Three of their regiments reached Roa- 
noke Island the next morning, and the two others were conveyed 
to'Newbeme. The next day Colonel Wright was reinforced by 
the 1st Louisiana and the 32d North Carolina Regiments, and 
later by the Portsmouth Rifle Company and Grimes' Battery, 
under command of General Blanchard, who assumed command of 
the brigade. Colonel Wright's loss in the engagement was six 
killed, nineteen wounded and three missing. Among the killed 
was Captain McComas, of the artillery. The Federal loss, as per 
their official report, was thirteen killed, 101 wounded, and thirteen 
captured. 

The uncertainty of the point of attack in North Carolina and 
the many exposed points required the withdrawal from Virginia 
of a large portion of General Johnston's army, and so great was 
this drain that in April, 1862, the muster rolls of General Holmes' 
command in North Carolina showed a force of nearly 25,000 ef- 
fective men, and the only troops who could be taken to fill their 
places were those under command of General Huger, in the vicin- 
ity of Norfolk and Portsmouth. General Johnston announced 
his decision on the 28th of April to fall back from Yorktown and 
recommended the evacuation of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and 
General Lee, who had for some time apprehended a movement of 
the Federals upon Suffolk, and doubted the ability of the Confed- 
erates to detach troops enough to resist it, concurred in the move- 
ment, and orders were issued to General Huger. to remove every- 
thing moveable, preparatory to marching away the troops, whom 
he was ordered to concentrate on Petersburg. The evacuation of 



OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 243 

Norfolk was hastened by a much earlier retreat on the part of 
General Johnston than was anticipated. 

There were no military movements of interest in the vicinity 
of Norfolk, after the battle of South Mills, until the 8th of May, 
when the Federal fleet from Fortress Monroe, incluclihg the Mon- 
itor, moved up towards Seawell's Point, and about noon opened 
fire upon the batteries. The Virginia moved down from the 
navy yard to take part in the engagement, but as she was turning 
Lambert's Point the Federal vessels saw her and retired towards 
Fortress Monroe. That morning the Galena and two other gun 
boats started up James river, shelling the Confederate batteries as 
they moved along. The Confederate steamers Patrick Henry and 
Thomas Jefferson retired before them as they advanced. Early 
in April, before it was anticipated that the evacuation of Norfolk 
and Portsmouth would be necessary, the Secretary of War di- 
rected that additional obstructions be put in the harbor, and after 
consulting with Secretary Mallory, of the navy, Captain S. S. 
Lee, who had relieved Commodore Forrest as commandant of the 
navy yard, was directed to have the old 74-gun ships Delaware 
and Columbus raised and taken to the narrow part of the channel 
near Seawell's Point and there scuttled. The sloop of war Ger- 
mantown and the old frigate United States, which had been re- 
christened "the Confederate States," were to be used for the same 
purpose, while the Plymouth was directed to be fitted up as a re- 
ceiving ship. A space was to be left open for the Virginia to 
pass in and out, but was to be closed with an arrangement of 
booms when not used for the passage of vessels. This was decided 
upon because the old obstructions near Lambert's Point were so 
close to the city that it could be reached from there by the ene- 
my's shells, should they succeed in passing the batteries at Sea- 
well's Point and Craney Island. Before anything could be done 
towards carrying out the propped plan, the Confederates evacu- 
ated the place. In the meantime the wholesome fear the enemy 
had of the Virginia kept them from making any attempt to enter 
the harbor. 

The Confederates left on the 10th of May, and knowing that 
they were moving off, General Wool landed a force of 6,000 troops 
on Willoughby's Spit, and about 9 a. m. started for the city. He 
marched very slowly, so as to give the Confederates time to get 
off without any hindrance on his part, and arrived within about a 
mile of the Norfolk at 5 o'clock p. m., having moved at the rate 
of about one mile an hour. Here he was met by Mayor W. W. 
Lamb, who surrendered the city, in the absence of military 
authority, and, though the city was in possession of the United 
States army and the guns which frowned from the numerous bat- 
teries were silent, with no soldiers near them to wake them into 
action, the Virginia still held a position inside of Craney Island, 



244 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1S61-5. 

and the Federal fleet held back from entering the harbor. That 
night the old ironclad was set on fire by order of her own comman- 
der, and just before daylight on the morning of the 11th, the fire 
reached her magazine and she was blown up. Then her late an- 
tagonists came boldly up to the city. 

General Wool, in his official report of the landing of the Fed- 
eral troops, and their occupation of the city, forwarded to the 
Secretary of War on the 12th of May, says: 

Headquarters Department of Virginia, | 

Fortress Monroe, Va., May 12th, 1862. \ 

Sir — -On the 9th of May (Friday afternoon) I organized a force 
to march against Norfolk. On Saturday morning, May 10th, the 
troops were landed, under the direction of Colonel Cram, at Ocean 
View, and commenced the march towards Norf oik, under the di- 
rection of Brigadier Generals Mansfield and Weber, who proceeded 
on the direct route by the way of Tanner's Creek bridge, but 
finding it on fire, they returned to the cross-roads, where I joined 
them and took the direction of the column. I arrived by the old 
road and entered the entrenchments in front of the city at twenty 
minutes before 5 p. m. I immediately proceeded towards Nor- 
folk, accompanied by Hon. Secretary Chase, and met the mayor 
and a select committee of the Common Council of Norfolk at the 
limits of the city, when they surrendered the city, agreeably to 
the terms set forth in the resolutions of the Common Council, 
presented by the Mayor, W. W. Lamb, which were accepted by 
me so far as related to the civil rights of the citizens. 

I immediately took possession of the city and appointed Briga- 
dier General Egbert L. Viele Military Governor of Norfolk, with 
directions to see that the citizens were protected in all their civil 
rights. Soon after I took possession of Gosport and Portsmouth. 
The taking of Norfolk caused tke destruction of the ironclad 
Merrimac, which was blown up by the rebels about 5 o'clock on 
the morning of the 11th of May, which was soon after communi- 
cated to you and the President of the United States. On the 11th 
I visited the navy yard and found all the work shops, storehouses, 
and other buildings in ruins, having been set on fire by the rebels 
who at the same time partially blew up the dry-dock. 

I also visited Craney Island, where I found thirty-nine guns of 
large caliber, most of which were spiked ; also a large number of 
shot and shells, with about 5,000 pounds of powder, all of which 
with the buildings, were in good order. So far as I have been 
able to ascertain, we have taken about two hundred cannon, in- 
cluding those at Seawell's Point batteries, with a large number of 
shot and shells, as well as many other articles of value to the gov- 
ernment. 

Troops have been stationed at the navy yard, Craney Island, 
Seawell's Point and other places. 



OPERATIONS AROUND NORFOLK CITY. 245 

Secretary of "War Staunton issued a congratulatory order to 
General Wool, claiming that his movement of 6,000 troops caused 
the evacuation of Norfolk. The secretary knew that the evacu- 
ation was due to orders received from Richmond two weeks pre- 
vious thereto, and that the stores which could be moved had pre- 
viously been sent to Richmond and Charlotte. What chance 
would General Wool's 6,000 men have had of capturing Norfolk 
or even escaping, in a contest with the 15,000 well drilled troops 
who were under General Huger's command. 

General Wool knew before he> landed at Ocean View that the 
Confederates had evacuated their batteries, and he took particular 
care not to approach Norfolk until he was certain that the last 
Confederate troops had left the city. Is any better evidence 
wanted than the fact that it took him from 9 o'clock a. m. to 5 p. 
m. to march from Ocean Yiew to the intrenchments back of Nor- 
folk, a distance of about seven miles. 

The Confederate troops under General Huger were added to 
the army of General Johnston for the defence of Richmond. 
General Huger commanded the division until after the battle of 
Malvern Hill, when he was relieved from his command in the 
field and appointed inspector of artillery and ordnance, with in- 
structions to report to the War Department for orders. His man- 
agement of the division at tfie battle of Seven Pines and during 
the Seven Day's battles, terminating at Malvern Hill, did not 
meet the approbation of the Confederate Avar authorities. His 
troops were assigned to other commanders, and made records for 
themselves, as soldiers, second to none in the army of Northern 
Virginia. 

The council of war which decided that Norfolk was untenable, 
was held before General Johnston went to the Peninsula. There 
were present Generals Longstreet, Smith and Lee, President Davis 
and Secretary of War Randolph. It was agreed then that if the 
Peninsula was evacuated, McClellan could cross a force over 
James river, take post at Suffolk, that Burnside could reinforce 
him from Elizabeth City, and starve out General Huger's forces 
and force a surrender. Persons not so high in authority as those 
who held the council, have always doubted the necessity of evac- 
uating the city. They have taken the ground that if McClellan 
crossed over his army and located at Suffolk or advanced towards 
Portsmouth, General Johnston's army could have crossed over 
also and hemmed McClellan in between the two forces, while the 
Virginia, in Hampton Roads, could have prevented his receiving 
supplies from Portress Monroe, and, if Burnside left North Caro- 
lina to unite with him, General Holmes' 25,000 Confederate 
troops in that State would have been released and could have 
joined General Johnston in Virginia. McClellan had his eye on 
Richmond, not Norfolk. 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



On the 3d of May an * e ^t^* 
;„ Norfolk with an order to General ixug Secretary 

SSSy- Tl- «f,™- d a S the removal of stores 
'of War, who was nr Norfolk to see a. ^ evacnati m ul he eonld 

££S£ 2SS»W. aJeonld he earned off. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE NORFOLK LIGHT AKTILLEKY BLUES. 

When the war ended, this was probably the largest company in 
the Confederate army, for though it had been through three years 
of active service after the evacuation of Norfolk, and had lost six- 
teen men by death, besides many wounded, it had more than a 
hundred and fifty men present for duty when the lines were 
broken at Petersburg on the 1st of April, 1865, and the final 
crash came, which involved the Southern Confederacy in its ruins. 
Twenty-two of its members were from Portsmouth, ten or twelve 
were from Princess Anne, six were from Maryland, while Norfolk 
county, Southampton, Nansemond, Prince George, Petersburg, 
Hampton and other places had representatives in its ranks, but a 
large majority of its members were from the city of Norfolk, and 
no company in the Confederate service was composed of better 
material. 

The Blues were organized February 22d, 1828, with Captain 
Miles King as. their first commander. Captain King passed away 
long before the war, but his work remained. At the breaking 
out of the late war " the Blues " turned out with full ranks, and 
were on duty April 19th, 1861, when the powder was removed 
from Fort Norfolk, and on the morning of the 20th, with two 
field pieces, they were sent down the harbor towards Craney Is- 
land, to intercept the Baltimore boat, which was supposed to have 
on board a detachment of marines for the navy yard. Their or- 
ders were to capture the marines and bring them to Norfolk. 
They stopped the steamer but the marines were not on board. 
The company was armed w T ith four brass howitzers but these were 
turned over to the Huger Battery, and the Blues were attached 
to the 16th Virginia Infantry as Company H, until March 26th, 
1862, when the company was detached from the 16th Regiment 
and reorganized as light artillery. 

The officers of the company when the war began were Captain 
Jacob Yickery ; 1st Lieutenant, W. J. Nimmo ; 2d Lieutenant, 
John Branham ; 3d Lieutenant, S. P. Moore, but Lieutenants 
Branham and Moore did not go into service with it, and the offi- 
cers for the first year were Captain "Vickery; 1st Lieutenant 
Nimmo ; 2d Lieutenant, W. T. Peet ; 3d Lieutenant, R. B. 
Banks ; 1st Sergeant, Thos. Nash, Jr. On the 22cl of April the 
Blues were ordered to Craney Island and remained there about 
three weeks, when they were sent to Boush's Bluff, near the 
mouth of Tanner's Creek. There were on duty at that locality, 
the Blues, the Juniors, of Norfolk, and a company organized by 

247 



248 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Gajjtain John J. Young, and doing duty as heavy artillery. On 
the 18th of May, 1861, the tug Ivahukee landed a force of labo- 
rers at Sea well's Point for the purpose of building a battery in 
that locality, and was shortly afterwards chased and fired upon by 
the United States steamer Monticello. The Kahukee steamed for 
Norfolk, with the Monticello in pursuit, and when the latter ves- 
sel had gotten within range of the guns in the battery at Boush's 
Bluff, Captain Young fired a shot at her which turned her back. 
During that day and the following morning the Confederates were 
busy at work upon the battery at Seawell's Point, and by the 
afternoon of the 19th, had three guns mounted, when the Monti- 
cello took up a position to attack it. A detachment of the Blues, 
under Lieutenant Peet, was sent from Boush's Bluff to reinforce 
a company of Georgians, the Columbus Light Guard, which was 
stationed there, and assisted in the engagement which followed. 
After a brisk interchange of shots, the Monticello retired but re- 
turned again on the 21st. The Blues were present on this occa- 
sion also and did good service. Later that summer, the whole 
company was ordered to Seawell's Point, and remained on duty 
there until the evacuation by the Confederates in May, 1862. 

On the 8th of March, 1862, several of the Federal vessels which 
were moving from Fortress Monroe towards Newport News, to 
engage the Virginia (Merrimac) passed within gun shot of the 
batteries at Seawell's Point, and among others, the battery which 
was manned by the Blues, opened fire on them. They were in 
the battery on the Sth of May when the Federal fleet from Fort- 
ress Monroe bombarded Seawell's Point, until the appearance of 
the Virginia, coming down from the navy } 7 ard, caused them to 
retire. 

While at Seawell's Point several changes took place in the offi- 
cers of the company. Sergeant Nash was elected 1st Lieutenant 
of the Huger Battery in April, 1861, Lieutenant Nimmo died on 
the 25th of September, 1S61, Captain Vickery resigned on the 
4th of December, and on the 21st Captain Charles R. Grandy 
was elected Captain. Other changes were made at the reorgani- 
zation of the company, so that when it left Norfolk the following 
were its officers : 

Captain — Charles R. Grandy. 

First Lieutenant, Wm. T. Peet ; 2d Lieutenant, R. B. Banks ; 
3d Lieutenant, James W. Gilmer. 

After leaving Norfolk the company moved to Petersburg and 
was there furnished with two rifle guns, two brass howitzers and 
two Napoleons. It had then between ninety and a hundred men. 
In the summer of 1862 Sergeant Henry V. Moore was elected 
4th Lieutenant and 2d Sergeant R. F. Vaughan became Orderly 
Sergeant. These officers continued with the compan}^ until the 
close of the war. Lieutenant Peet was wounded twice. The first 



THE NORFOLK LIGHT ARTILLERY BLUES. 249 

wound was received at the battle of Chancellorsville on the 1st of 
May, 1863, and the other on the 1st of April 1865, when the Con- 
federate lines in front of Petersburg were broken. Lieutenant 
Gilmer received a slight wound in the forehead in front of Pe- 
tersburg in 1861, from a piece of shell which struck the ground 
and spent nearly all of its force before it struck him. The other 
ottieers escaped without a wound. 

The company remained on duty around Richmond and Peters- 
burg until the fall of 1862, when it was ordered to the upper 
Rappahannock to assist the 61st Virginia Regiment in guarding 
the fords of that river and the Rapidan, and on the 16th of No- 
vember was ordered, with the 61st Regiment, to Petersburg, ar- 
riving there on the 18th. On the 13th of December was fought 
the battle of Fredericksburg. The Blues occupied a piece of high 
ground on the left of the Confederate line, with Anderson's Di- 
vision, and rendered material assistance in repulsing the assaults 
of the enemy, but was fortunate in not losing any men. This 
was the first battle with infantry in which the company was en- 
gaged. 

The winter of 1862-3 was spent on the Rappahannock river in 
the presence of the enemy, and when General Hooker commenced 
his turning movement in April, 1863, the Blues were on guard at 
United States Ford. This position was turned by Hooker's pas- 
sage of the river higher up, and on the night of the 29th the 
Blues retired towards Chancellorsville, where, on the 1st day of 
May, they opened the three days' battle which is known by that 
name. One gun. of the Blues' battery, together with another gun 
belonging to Jordan's battery, engaged Weed's battery of regu- 
lars, supported by two brigades of Sykes' Division, at a distance 
of three hundred yards, until the enemy retired. During this 
engagement a can of shrapnel from one of the guns of the enemy 
burst just in front of the Blues' gun, killed Private W. C. Land 
and wounded Lieutenant Peet slightly, Corporals J. H. Watters 
and M. C. Keeling and Privates J. W. Floyd, C. K. McKown, 
/'John II. Day, T. J. Wilkins and W. D. Montague. This left 
only two men to work the gun, and these two, with the assistance 
of Captain Grandy and Lieutenant Peet, who was not disabled by 
his wound, continued to serve it. Private Floyd lost his arm. 
This was the heaviest loss the company met with in any engage- 
ment during the war. 

In June, 1863, the company was attached to Garnett's battal- 
ion of artillery and followed General Lee into Pennsylvania, took 
part in the battle of Gettysburg, and on the 11th of July recrossed 
the Potomac river into Virginia without having lost any men ex- 
cept one or two who were captured near Falling "Waters. 

The winter of 1863-1 was passed in comfortable quarters near 
Gordons ville, and in May, 1861, camp was broken to meet the 

17 



250 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

advance of General Grant in the Wilderness. The Blues were 
constantly in front until the army settled down in front of Peters- 
burg, when the company was assigned a position in the lines near 
the Boydton Plank Road. While there three men were killed, 
Privates Wm. Booth, J. Theodore Taylor, and A. M. Watters, 
Taylor performed a very daring feat on the 30th of July, 1864, 
during the battle of the Crater. The company was then sta- 
tioned near that locality and had not been moved to the Plank 
Road. A large shell from one of the enemy's guns made a lodg- 
ment in the roof of the magazine, and, exploding, set the maga- 
zine on fire. Seeing this, and apprehending an explosion, an in- 
fantry regiment which was near by supporting the battery scat- 
tered, and considerable demoralization was felt all around, but 
Taylor took a couple of buckets of water, went down into the 
magazine and put the fire out. In this battle the company had 
one man killed. Corporal R. M. Butler, and several wounded. 

Towards the close of the scenes around Petersburg the Blues 
were divided into two sections, one of whom had charge of a mor- 
tar battery near the scene of the Crater fight and the other was 
farther to the right, near the Boydton Plank Road, and it was 
there that Grant made his assault upon the Confederate lines. All 
of the infantry had been withdrawn, and the Blues fought with- 
out supports. The enemy charged in front and to the right of 
them. The assault in front was checked, but the works were 
carried on their right and the exultant foe charged down the 
trenches upon the battery. A portion of the guns changed front 
to meet this attack, and they were fought until the enemy reached 
their muzzles, when the battery, with about sixty men, was cap- 
tured. The enemy's loss was very heavy and the price paid for 
the battery was a dear one. The portion of the company sta- 
tioned at the mortar battery escaped from the lines, joined the 
army on the retreat, and surrendered at Appomattox. The com- 
pany took part in the following battles : 
Seawell's Point, May 19th-21st, Chancellorsville, May 1st, 1863. 

1861. Gettysburg, July 2d-3d, 1863. 
Seawell's Point, March 8th, '62. Bristoe Station, October 14th, 
Seawell's Point, May 8th, '62. 18(53. 

Rappahannock Bridge. Wilderness, May 6th, 1864. 

Fredericksburg, December 13th, Spotsylvania C. H., May 12th, 

1862. 1864. 

Cold Harbor, Turkey Ridge, 

Petersburg lines from June 16th, 1S64, to April 1st, 1865. 
The Norfolk Light Artillery Blues was one of the companies 
sent to Coggins' Point, on the James river, in July, 1862, to bom- 
bard McClellan's camp at Harrison's Landing, on which occasion 
the enemy were considerably surprised and alarmed, even if not 
greatly damaged. 



THE NORFOLK LIGHT ARTILLERY BLUES. 251 

The following rolls show, first, those who were discharged from 
the company or assigned to other fields of duty, and second, those 
who left Norfolk in its ranks at the evacuation or joined the com- 
pany subsequently. Those marked with a star were from Ports- 
mouth, and, of all these names, every man remained faithful to 
the Confederacy until the close of the war: 

TRANSFERRED AND DISCHARGED. 

Allyn, Joseph T., appointed 2d Lieutenant OrdnanceC. S. Armv, May 25th> 

1863. 
Bagnall, Richard D., appointed Assistant Surgeon C. S. Army October 18th, 

1861. 
Blow, W. W. , transferred to Ordnance Department. 
Borum, Charles, appointed Lieutenant in the Navy. 
Branham, John B., detailed as Department Clerk, Richmond. 
*Brown, John B., appointed Engineer in the Navy March 20th, 1863. 
Bradford, O., appointed Lieutenant in the Navy. 
Cornick, Henry, appointed Master in the Navy April 1st, 1863. 
Freeman, J. M., Jr., appointed Engineer in the Navy May 12th, 1863. 
Gatch, J. A., appointed Lieutenant Company H, 6th Virginia Regiment, 

April 7th, 1863. 
Johnson, Ames C, appointed Engineer in the Navy. 
*Kilby, W. T., transferred to Provost Marshal's office, Richmond. 
Toy, Crawford JL, appointed Chaplain 53 Virginia Regiment. 
Whiting, John S., appointed Hospital Steward October 8th, 1861. 
Walker, R. P., discharged on account of disability. 
Wright, Minton A., appointed Lieutenant 57th North Carolina Regiment 

and killed. 
*West, Joseph S., appointed Engineer in the Navy. 
Webb, Win. T., discharged July 3d, 1863. 

Captain, Chas. R. Grandy. 
First Lieutenant, Wm. T. Peet. 
Second Lieutenant, P. B. Banks. 
Third Lieutenant, Jas. W. Gilmer. 
Fourth Lieutenant, Henry V. Moore. 

SERGEANTS. 

1st, R. F. Vaughan, 3d, Wm. E. Taylor, 5th, J. H. Watters, 
2d, Geo. C. Hudgins, 4th, J. K. Wright, 6th, W. T. Clarke. 

CORPORALS. 

C. H. Busky, J. E. Keeling, W. D. Montague, 

*J. T. Rainier, C. S. Rogers, S. 1ST. Brickhouse, 

R. M. Butler, M. C. Keeling, E. L. Wright, 

R. S. Broughton, T. J. Wilkins, J. M. Zills. 

Wm. Boothe, J. W. Elliott, 

Quartermaster Sergeant, B. D. Thomas. 

Commissary Sergeant, John L. Keeling. 

Ordnance Sergeant, John H. Nash. 

PRIVATES. 

*Ashton, John C. Benson, O. S. Brock, L. 

Beale, H. Bishop, W. I. E. Brickhouse, B. D. 

Bell, A. S. Bell, N. Brooks, E. W. 



252 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



Brown, Y. H. 
* Browne, Joe S. 
*Brown, J. W. 
Brown, E. P. 
Cooke, John S. 
Cooke, M. T. 
Collins, W. W. 
Capps, L. O. 
Cornick, H. 
Carroll, Win. S. 
Chamberlaine, A. E. 
Cocke, W. R. C. 
Cox, fm. K. 
Cntlierell, ¥m. S. 
Cocke, P. St. Geo. 
'-Day, John H. 
Denson, A. J. 
Doughtie, II. S. 
Doyle, W. H. 
Drnmmond, P. J. 
Drummond, C. II. 
*Dunn, Wm. H. 
Dunn, J. R. 
Evans, P. 
*Elliott, Thos. II. 
Elliott, T. E. 
Elliott, J. A. 
Fitzgerald, W. 
Fitzgerald, D. 
Fitzgerald, E. ,// 
Fletcher, F.Q/' ; 7" \ 
Floyd, Join! "W. 
Gamage, J. O. 
Gaskins, G. O. 
Ghiselin, H. 
Ghiselin, R. 
Goodrich, A. J. 
Gordon, J. P. 
Gordon, Geo. W. 
Graves, C. M. 
Gwathney, P. H. 
Gordon, M. 
Hodges, John M. 
*Haines, J. M. D. 
Hill, A. 

Halstead, P. L. 
Hallett, Wm. R. 



Hatton, John F. 
Haughton, A. Jr. 
Higgins, I. 
Higgins, A. 
Hodges, Samuel. 
*Hume, R. G. 
Hunter, J. F. 
Holmes, W. H. 
James, H. 
Johnson, J. W. 
Jones, George. 
Jones, R. H. 
Joynes, S. H. 
Joynes, W. C. 
Joynes, C. T. 
Johnson, A. W. 
King, W. C. 
Lee, L. M. Jr. 
Land, W. A. 
LeCompte, J. W. 
Lee, F. D. 
Lovitt, R. C. 
Lovitt, H. C. 
McKown, C. K. 
*Moore, Jos. P. 
McGuire, J. B. 
Morris, J. J. 
Morse, B. K 
*Maupin,G.W.O.Jr. 
Malborn, O. L. 
Morris, D. P. 
Masi, F. J. 
Moore, J. E. 
McCarrick, D. 
Nash, W. 
Newton, C. A. 
Nimmo, P. E. 
Norvell, C. R. 
Petty, J. C. 
Peet, J. D. 
*Porter, Robt. T. 
Reid, John S. 
*Reynolds, Robt. E. 
*Roberts, John B. 
Rogers, John C. 
Rogers, W. H. R. 
Rogers, T. F. 



Rogers, C. S. 
Saunders, S. S. 
Sebrell, K. C. H. 
Smiley, C. D. 
Sterrett, J. S. 
Segar, T. F. 
Smith, E. C. 
*Smith, Jas. W. 
Smythe, Wm. 
Stewer, Edwin. 
Swank, W. A. 
Smith, C. A. Jr. 
Smith, J. E. 
Simmons, J. 
^Thompson, E. Jr. 
Taylor, W. J. 
Taylor, J. Theodore. 
Thomas, J. D. 
Yaughan, E S. 
Veale, Samuel. 
Walters, John. 
Watters, A. M. 
West, Wm. M. 
Whiting, T. B. 
Whiting, J. R. 
Wilkins, C. L. 
Wilkins, John F. 
Wilkinson, James. 
"Wingneld, R. C. M. 
Whitehurst, L. H. 
Whitehurst, S. T. 
Woodhouse, P. D. 
Worrell, J. R. 
Wright, W. S. 
Wilkins, W. A. 
Ward, J. T. 
Wilson, D. C. B. 
Woodhouse, John 
Woodward, W. W. 
*White, K E. 
Wilkins, G. W. 
White, C. E. 
^Williamson, C. H. 
Whitmore, C. 
Zills, J. A. 
Zills, A. C. 



THE NORFOLK LIGHT ARTILLERY BLUES. 253 

CASUALTIES KILLED AND DIED. 

Booth, Wm., killed 1865, Petersburg lines. 

Butler, R. M., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Dunn, J. R., died in hospital September 4th, 1863, Petersburg. 

Gaskins, G. 0., died in hospital, 1864, Petersburg. 

Hatton, J. F., died in hospital, 1863, Petersburg. 

Higgins, I., killed June, 1864, Turkey Ridge. 

Land, W. C, killed May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 

McCarriek, D., died in hospital, 1864, Petersburg. 

Nimino, W. T., died in hospital September 21, 1861, Norfolk. 

Reynolds, R. E., captured July 14th, 1863, Maryland, died at Point Look- 
out. 

Rogers, W. H. R., died in hospital September 24th, 1862, Richmond. 

Sterrett, J. S., died in hospital, 1862, Petersburg. 

Tavlor, J. Theodore, killed Plank Road, 1863, Petersburg. 

Watters, A. M., killed Plank Road, 1865, Petersburg. 

Wilkins, W. A., died in hospital, 1862, Petersburg. 

Wright, Minton A., appointed Lieutenant 57th North Carolina Regiment 
and killed in battle. 
Killed and died— 16. 

CASUALTIES WOUN DED. 

Broughton, Robert S., April 1st, 1865, Petersburg lines. 

Cooke, M. T., on the lines near Petersburg. 

Cutherell, Wm. S., Chancellorsville May 1st, L863. 

Druminond, R. J., Chancellorsville May 1st, 1863. 

Day, John EL, Chancellorsville Mav 1st, 1863, and Petersburg Jul v 30th, 

1864. ^T>p^ 
Floyd, Jrrtm W., Chancellorsville May 1st, 1863, lost an arm. > 
Gilmer, James W. (Lieutenant), on the lines near Petersburg. 
Gamage, John 0., July 30th, 1865, at the Crater. 
Johnson, John, April 1st, 1865, Petersburg. 
Johnson, Augustus W., April 1st, 1865, Petersburg. 
Keeling, M. C., May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville, sent to Richmond wounded, 

captured by Stoneman's Raiders, paroled, and wounded July 30th, 

1864, Crater. 
Lee, F. D., Petersburg lines, 1864, wounded, again 1865, and disabled. 
Lovitt, H. C, Petersburg lines, 1865. 
McKown, C. K., May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 
Montague, W. D., May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 
Moore, Joseph P., July 30th, 1864, at the Crater. 
Newton, C. E., Plank Road near Petersburg, 1864, lost a leg. 
Peet, W. T. (Lieutenant), May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville, and April 1st, 

1st,- 1865, Petersburg. * 

Rogers, T. F., May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H. 
Reid, J. S., Petersburg lines, 1864. 

Taylor, Wm. E., 1864, near Fredericksburg, on R., F. & P. R. R. 
Taylor, Wm. J., near the Plank Road, Petersburg, 1864, lost a foot, 
Wilkins, T. J., Mav 1st, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 
Watters, J. H., May 1st, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 
Walters, John, April 1st, 1865, Petersburg. 
Worrell, J. R,, May 1st, 1863, Chancellorsville. 
Wilson, D. C. B., 1865, Petersburg lines. 

The following names of members of the Blues were on the of- 
ficial muster roll as having been paroled at Appomattox : 
Sergeant W. T. Clarke, Hospital Steward Jesse J. Mor- 

Sergeant W. H. Doyle, ris. 

Ordnance Sergt. Jno. J. Morris, Q. M. Sergeant J. C. Petty, 



254 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



Private C. H. Busky, special 

duty, 
Private W. W. Collins, special 

duty, 
Private Norman Bell, special 

duty, 
Private W. Fitzgerald, 
Private Ed. Fitzgeraid, 
Private M. Gordon, 

Private K. C. 



Private John Hodges, 
Private J. H. Nash, special duty, 
Private Eobert Porter, 
Private G. D. Smiley, 
Private John B. Koberts, 
Private W. W. Woodward, 
Private N. E. White, 
Private K. Whiting, 
Private John Walters, 
M. Wingfield. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE NORFOLK LIGHT ARTILLERY — THE HUGER BATTERY. 

In May, 1861, there were on the rolls of the Norfolk Light Ar- 
tillery Blues more members than were permitted to one company 
and on the 21st, by mutual consent, the company was divided and 
a portion, splitting on* from the others, organized a new company 
under the name of the Norfolk Light Artillery, and requested 
Frank Huger, Esq., son of General Benj. Huger, then command- 
ing the department of Norfolk, to become its captain. The invi- 
tation was accepted and the company was mustered into service 
about the 8th of June under the following officers : 

Captain, Frank Huger. 

First Lieutenant, Thos. Nash, Jr.; 2d Lieutenant, Joseph D. 
Moore ; 3d Lieutenant, Win. J. Parrish. 

First Sergeant, W. J. Butt ; 2d Sergeant, Jas. D. Gale ; 3d 
Sergeant, Wm. K. Ferguson ; ith Sergeant, W. H. Caldwell. 

First Corporal, John W. Stephens ; 2d Corporal, Benj. F. Bal- 
som ; 4th Corporal, Richard D. Christian. 

The company was given the guns belonging to the Blues, con- 
sisting of two brass six-pounder howitzers, one rhie gun and one 
boat howitzer. Later in the war it was armed with two rifle guns 
and two Napoleans. 

Upon being mustered into service the company was sent into 
camp in the entrenchments back of Norfolk and placed in a bat- 
talion with Moorman's Battery, of Lynchburg, and Nicholson's 
Battery, of Petersburg, and remained there until the evacuation 
of Norfolk in May, 1862, when it was ordered to Petersburg and 
thence to the army in front of Richmond. 

At the reorganization of the company in May, 1862, Captain 
Huger and Second Lieutenant Moore were re-elected, but Lieu- 
tenants Nash and Parrish were dropped. - Lieutenant Nash re- 
ceived an appointment as Lieutenant in the Provisional army and 
was assigned to duty at various posts. For a long time he was on 
duty in the Provost Marshal's office in Staunton, and Lieutenant 
Parrish obtained a position in the navy. Private J. L. Tilghman 
was elected 1st Lieutenant and Sergeant Jas. D. Gale, 3d Lieu- 
tenant. Lieutenant Tilghman died in hospital in Richmond in 
October, 1862. This caused the promotion of Lieutenants Moore 
and Gale, and Sergeant F. M. Peed was elected 3d Lieutenant. 
In 1863 Captain Huger was promoted to Major of Artillery. 
Lieutenant Moore became Captain, Lieutenants Gale and Peed 
were advanced to 1st and 2d Lieutenants respectively, and 1st 
Sergeant Wm. J. Butt was elected 3d Lieutenant, and John W. 

255 



256 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Stephens was promoted to 1st Sergeant. Sergeant Stephens be- 
came disabled in 1863, from the loss of a leg and John W. Ash, 
who was transferred to the company from Grimes' Battery, of 
Portsmouth, became 1st Sergeant. There were no other changes 
among the officers during the war. 

In October, 1862, Grimes' Battery, of Portsmouth, was dis- 
banded and about eighty men of that company were transferred 
to the Huger Battery. The names of these men do not appear 
on the roll which follows, for the reason that they already appear 
on the roll of their original company. 

The Huger Battery was slightly engaged in the battle of Seven 
Pines, but suffered no loss, and during the Seven Days' battles 
had an artillery duel with a Federal battery at the battle of Oak 
Grove on the 25th of June, in which Captain linger reported no 
casualties, except the loss of one horse, which, was killed. The 
Federal battery was forced to retire. On the 28th of August the 
battery engaged a Federal battery at Warrenton Springs, and had 
one man wounded. It was present at Second Manassas, August 
30th, 1862, but was again fortunate in not meeting with any 
losses. At Sharpsburg, September 17th, the battery was under 
command of Lieutenant Gale, and was quite heavily engaged. 
Here it lost one man killed and two wounded. Its next engage- 
ment was at Fredericksburg, December 13th, 1862, when it occu- 
pied a position with Anderson's Division on the left of the Con- 
federate line of battle, but suffered no loss. It was again fortu- 
nate at Chancellorsville. It was posted with Wilcox's Brigade at 
Banks' Ford, and thus escaped the heavy fighting around Chan- 
cellorsville on the 1st, 2d and 3d of May. On the 3d the battery 
was moved from Banks' Ford to the breastworks on Taylor's Hill, 
opposite Falmouth,and with two rifled guns opened on the enemy's 
batteries across the river, and also upon a force of infantry, which 
was in sight, then, upon Sedgwick's advance from Fredericks- 
burg, the battery fell back, following Wilcox's Brigade in the di- 
rection of the Plank Road. The battery retired beyond the 
brick church (Salem iChurch), when, meeting Mahone's brigade, 
it returned with that command to the church, but, not finding an 
eligible position, General Wilcox ordered it to retire down the 
road. In this affair only one man was hurt. Private David 
Boyce, who was assigned to the company from Grimes' Battery, 
was slightly wounded in the shoulder. 

The battery was with the army in its advance into Pennsylva- 
nia, and at the battle of Gettysburg had one man wounded, and 
one wounded in a cavalry attack while falling back from Gettys- 
burg. During this campaign Lieutenant Gale had command of 
Penick's Battery from Halifax county. 

After the Gettysburg campaign the company enjoyed a season 
of rest until the beginning of Grant's overland campaign in May, 



NORFOLK L IGHT AETILLER Y-HUGER BA TTER Y. 257 

186-i, when it was engaged almost constantly from the battle of 
the Wilderness until the enemy settled around Petersburg. Here, 
too, there was a constant round of firing, and the company did 
duty at various positions between the Jerusalem Plank Road and 
Rieves' Salient, and here it suffered its heaviest losses. "When 
Grant broke through the Confederate lines at Petersburg on the 
1st of April, 1865, the Huger Battery was in position on Hatch- 
er's Run, and the whole company was surrounded and captured. 
It held its ground until further fighting became both useless and 
impossible, and then, yielding to the inevitable, became prisoners 
of war. First Sergeant John W. Ash managed to escape capture 
at Hatcher's Run and surrendered with the remnant of the army 
at Appomattox with Private Nathaniel G. Reid, the sole repre- 
sentatives of the battery. The company had three men killed at 
Hatcher's Run when the lines were broken, namely, Richard 
Boutwell and Edward Beaton, who were assigned to it from 
Grimes' Battery, and James O. Whitehurst, one of its original 
members. 

The following is the roll of the company after the reorganiza- 
tion in May, 1S62, and embraces only the original members. The 
men who were transferred to it from Grimes' Battery are not on 
it, as has been previously stated : 

Captain, Frank Huger, promoted to lieutenant-Colonel of Artillery. 

First Lieutenant, John L. Tilghman, died in hospital October, 18G2. 

Second Lieutenant, Joseph D. Moore, promoted to Captain. 

Third Lieutenant, James D.,Gale, promoted 1st Lieutenant. 

First Sergeant, W. J. Butt, promoted 3d Lieutenant. 

Second Sergeant, Fred. L. Bedout. in charge of stables. 

Third Sergeant, Fred. M. Peed, promoted 2d Lieutenant. 

Fourth Sergeant, Benj. F. Balsom, appointed Commissary Sergeant. 

First Corporal, Chas. Rogers. 

Second Corporal, Jos. A. Jordan. 

Third Corporal, John W. Stephens, promoted 1st Sergeant, wounded Sept. 

17th, 1862, at Sharpsburg, disabled in 1863, and discharged. 
Fourth Corporal, Carlton C. Lattimer, lost an eye at Spotsylvania Court 

House. 

PRIVATES. 

Abdell, James. 

Addison, James, wounded near Gettysburg, July 6th, 1863. 

Anderson, Chas. W., wounded September 17th, 1862, at Sharpsburg. 

Barnes, Jno. C, died in hospital, Richmond. 

Barnes, Samuel A. 

Billups, Andrew J., killed by sharpshooters, 1864, Petersburg lines. 

Bobee, Louis, in charge of Ambulance Corps. 

Boole, John J. 

Burford, Martin. 

Boutwell, L. W. 

Butt, Geo. W. 

Butt, C. N. G., detailed clerk in Treasury Department. 

Brown, Richard. 

Browning, Henry C. 

Carter, Richard W., assistant to Commissary Sergeant. 

Conner, Christopher 0., wounded on Petersburg lines, 

Curran, Albert G. 



258 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Currier, Robt. A., died in hospital, 1863, Charlottesville. 

Davis, Alex. 

Douglas, Thos. H. 

Edwards; John A. 

Ewell,. Jesse. 

Ferguson, Wm. K. 

Ferguson, Geo. S., transferred to cavalry. 

Ferrat, John B., detailed in hospital, 1863, Richmond. 

Forden, Wm. B. 

Forrest, Wm. S., Jr. 

Fugitt, Wm. . 

Gale, Jos. A., detailed December, 1862, Hospital Steward. 

George, Jos. 1). 

Gale, A. C. 

Gibbs, Wm. 

Guyot, Thos., died in prison, 1865, Point Lookout. 

Gormley, J. J., detailed 1862 in hospital, Charlottesville. 

Hall, John P., wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Hammett, Israel J., killed by sharpshooters on Petersburg lines. 

Herbert, Henry W. 

James, Robert T. 

Lipscomb, Chas. R. 

Legett, Robert. 

Merwin, W. F. 

Mitchell, T. G. • 

Moreland, Richard R. 

Morris, G. W., died in hospital June 7th, 1862, Petersburg. 

Morris, Joseph. 

O'Niel, Chas. 

Parrott, Augustus. 

Peed, Geo. W, killed at Spotsylvania Court House. 

Phillips, Thos. B., wounded at Spotsylvania Court House and died in hos- 
pital, Charlottesville. 

Ransome, Alex. 

Reed, Nathaniel G. 

Robbins, Jas. W. 

Robinson, Edwa/rd C, absent sick. 

Rose, Louis. 

Rye, Richard, wounded on Hatcher's Run, lost an eye. 

Smiley, Walter F. 

Smiley, Thomas S. 

Stephens, Richard H. Jr. 

Summers, Wm. R. 

Sullivan, John T., transferred to compa,ny from a Georgia Regiment and 
killed September 17th, 1862, at Sharpsburg. 

Taylor, John. 

White, Wm. 0., wounded on Hatcher's Run, 1865. 

Whitehurst, Jas. 0., killed on Hatcher's Run, April 1st, 1865. 

Whitfield, Richard W. 

Wickers, John. 

Wright, Junius. 

Killed and died— 11. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

COMPANY A, SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was organized in Norfolk immediately upon the 
beginning of hostilities, and numbered in its ranks a few Norfolk 
county men from the Tanner's Creek section. It was mustered 
into service on the 22d of April, 1861, under the following offi- 
cers : 

Captain — ~Wm. N~. McKenney. 

First Lieutenant, Robert B. Taylor ; 2d Lieutenant, Chas. W. 
Perkinson; 3d Lieutenant, Chas. W. Wilson. 

First Sergeant, Thos. D. Wallace ; 2d Sergeant, Wm. E. Broth- 
erton ; 3d Sergeant, John Lee Hopper ; 4th Sergeant, Arthur 
Jakeman. 

First Corporal, Wm. T. Bailey ; 2d Corporal, Wm. II. Hall ; 
3d Corporal, John Forsythe ; 4th Corporal, Thomas Stringer. 

On the 22d of August, 1861, Lieutenant Robert B. Taylor was 
elected Captain of the Woodis Rifles, Company H, 6th Virginia 
Regiment, and resigned his commission in Company A. First Ser- 
geant Thomas D. Wallace was elected 3d Lieutenant October 3d, 
1861. The other Lieutenants, Perkinson and Wilson, were each 
promoted one grade. The company was assigned to the 6th Vir- 
ginia Regiment, Colonel Wm. Malione commanding, as Company 
A, and ordered to report at what was afterwards known as the 
Entrenched Camp. 

In April, 1862, the company re-enlisted and re-elected officers, 
with the following result : 

Captain — Charles W. Perkinson. 

First Lieutenant, Charles W. Wilson ; 2d Lieutenant, George 
II. Steward ; 3d Lieutenant, John Lee Hopper. 

Lieutenant Steward was killed July 1st, 1862, at Malvern Hill 
and Captain Perkinson resigned on the 17th of November, 1862. 
First Lieutenant Wilson was promoted to Captain on the 18th 
and continued in command until the battle of Turkey Ridge, on 
the 8th of June, 1864, when he fell into the hands of the enemy. 
Lieutenant Hopper became 1st Lieutenant and was wounded at 
the battle of the Crater, July 30th, 1864. Sergeant Arthur 
Jakeman was promoted to 2d Lieutenant. In 1863 Captain Wil- 
son was assigned to the command of the company of sharpshoot- 
ers belonging to the 6th Regiment, and was on that duty when he was 
captured. Just before the evacuation of Norfolk this company 
was joined by a number of recruits from the counties of Patrick, 
Franklin and Henry, who were in the camp of instruction near 
Norfolk. Their names are designated by an * in the following 

259 



2G0 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

roll. This roll embraces all of those members of the company 
who marched away witli it at the evacuation of Norfolk by the 
Confederates, or who died or were honorably discharged before 
that date: 

Captain, Wm. N. McKenney, not re-elected, discharged May 1st, 1862. 

First Lieutenant, Robert B. Taylor, promoted Captain Company H, 6th Va. 
Regiment, 1861. 

Second Lieutenant, Chas. W. Perkinson, elected Captain May 1st, 1862, re- 
signed Nov. 17th. 

Third Lieutenant, Chas. W. Wilson, elected 1st Lieutenant May 1st, 1862, 
promoted Captain Nov. 18th, 1862, captured June 8th, 1864, at Turkey 
Ridge. 

First Sergea»nt, Thos. D. Wallace, promoted Lieutenant, not re-elected, dis- 
charged May 1st, 1862. 

Second Sergeant, Wm. E. Brotherton, discharged Nov. 29th, 1861, for dis- 
ability. 

Third Sergeant, John Lee Hopper, promoted 1st Lieutenant, wounded July 
30th, 1864, at the Crater. 

Fourth Sergeant, Arther Jakeman, promoted 2d Lieutenant. 

First Corporal, Wm. T. Bailey, promoted Sergeant. 

Second Corporal, Wm. H. Hall, promoted Sergeant, wounded June 22d, 
1864, at Wilcox's Farm. 

Third Corporal, John Forsyth, promoted Color Sergeant, wounded July 1st, 
1862, at Malvern Hill, transferred to Navy Nov. 11th, 1862. 

Fourth Corporal, Thos. D. Stringer, committed suicide Oct. 18th, 1861, in 
Norfolk. 

Musician, Geo. D. Cain, discharged January 17th, 1863, under conscript act. 

PRIVATES. 

Anderson, John R. 

Anderson, Edward P., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

*Ackers, Wm. N. 

* Arthur, Wm. G. 

*Angel, Marshall J., wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

*Altice, Samuel H., captured September 14th, 1862, CramptonGap, and not 

heard from. 
Buchanan, James, wounded, lost arm, June 21st, 1862, Charles City Road. 
Baker, Isaiah G., captured May 22d, 1864. 
*Byrd, Benj. E., died in hospital, Lexington, March 10th. 1863. 
Banks, Wm. T., promoted Sergeant, wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, 

killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
*Boone, Daniel, sick in hospital after August, 1862. 
Beasley, James W., wounded May 3d, 1863, Chancellorsville, and June 22d, 

1864, at Wilcox's Farm. 
Bowman, Abraham. 
*Boone, Jacob R., captured September 14th, 1862, and never rejoined the 

company. 
Butt, John J., detailed hospital cook August 1 0th, 1861. 
Bell, Jos. S., discharged Nov. 29th, 1861, disability. 
Coffin, Thos. W., appointed Hospital Steward Sept. 8th, 1861. 
Cooper, Flemming, died in hospital, 1862. 
Cooke, Ezekiel, captured Sept. 14th, 1862, at CramptonGap, exchanged and 

captured Oct. 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 
Coston, James, promoted Corporal, lost arm August 30th, 1862, Second 

Manassas. 
Carter, Henry C, wounded June 22d, 1864, Wilcox's Farm, lost leg. 
*Coleman, Skelton. 

*Dyer, Stokeley, promoted Corporal April 27th, 1863. 
Deal, Willis, discharged August 1st, 1862, over age. 



COMPANY A, SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 261 

*Easter, George W. 

*Easter, Edward W. 

Flora, Joel, furnished substitute and discharged June 24th, 1862, and sub- 
stitute deserted June 26th. 

* Frith, Thomas D. 

Field, Robert, died in hospital from wounds received June 21st, 1862. 

*Guerrant, Stephen, furnished substitute. 

Gregory, Quinton T., wounded and captured July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Gregory, John W., left behind in Norfolk, sick. 

Hudgins, George McK., promoted Sergeant, killed July 30th, 1864, at 
Crater. 

Hozier, Wm. J., discharged October 15th, 1861, disability. 

Hudson, Philip, killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Hill, Severn J., discharged 1862, over age. 

Hodges, Solomon, wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

*Haile, Creed, captured September 14th, 1862, at Crampton Gap and Octo- 
ber 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

*Howell, Elkanah, wounded August 29th, 1862, at Thoroughfare Gap. 

*Howell. Addison M., wounded August 29th, 1862, captured October 27th, 
1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

*Ingram, Isaac, detailed as teamster, 1862. 

Jones, Robert C, died in hospital, 1862. 

Judkius, Samuel, wounded July 1st, 1862, at Malvern Hill. 

*Jones, Robert P. 

*Jones, Aaron F., killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Karn, Joseph H. 

Lee, Ivy, wounded May 6th, 1S64, at Wilderness. 

Lovitt, David, discharged February 6th, 1863, disability. 

*Marsb, Smith, killed August 30th, 1862, at Second Manassas. 

Moore, Henry L. 

*Mason, Wm. 

*Moore, Owen L. 

Messick. Wm. J., wounded June 21st, 1862, and transferred to navy 1863. 

Nottingham, Thomas J., detailed in Commissary Department on account 
of ill health. 

Pitts, Marcel] us, died in hospital from wounds received June 21st, 1862. 

Steward, George H., promoted Lieutenant, killed July 1st, 1862, at Mal- 
vern Hill. 

Stott, Samuel, discharged 1862, under conscript act and subsequently re- 
enlisted. 

Sheppard, James, H., discharged 1862, being an alien. 

*Shiveley, Jehu, wounded May 25th, 1864, on picket line. 

Tulane, Alonzo J , killed September 14th, 1862, Crampton Gap. 

Whitehurst, Wm. H., promoted 1st Sergeant, wounded September 14th, 
1862, at Crampton Gap, and October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill, and 
July 30th, 1864, at the Crater. 

Wilkins, Wm. P., captured February 6th, 1865, at Hatcher's Run. 

Warren, John M., captured April 29th, 1863, at Germanna Ford. 

Williams, Newton J., discharged November 29th, 1862, disability. 
Killed and died— -13. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE WOODIS RIFLEMEN, COMPANY C, SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company was one of Norfolk's crack organizations at the 
beginning of the late war. It was organized on the 3d of March, 
1858, at a meeting held for that purpose, and thirty-four names 
were enrolled. The meeting was presided over by Wm. C. Tar- 
rant, Esq., and Tlios. W. Colly acted secretary. It was held in 
the carpenter shop of Mr. Wm. F. Pumphrey, and a committee 
of five was appointed to select a name. The committee reported 
at an adjourned meeting, held on the 5th, and recommended that 
the company be named "the Woodis Riflemen," after Mayor 
Hunter Woodis, who died during the prevalence of the yellow 
fever in Norfolk in 1855. The name was unanimously adopted. 
On the 18th of March the company elected the following officers : 

Captain, Wm. Lamb. 

First Lieutenant, John Hay man ; 2d Lieutenant, Peter Dil- 
worth ; 3d Lieutenant, A. A. Gwaltney. 

On account of some informality in the election, as not conform- 
ing strictly to the law, these were re-elected on the 15th of April, 
and again on the 20th of May, before thay could obtain their 
commissions and the company its arms. 

The uniform adopted by the company consisted of a dark green 
cloth single breasted frock coat, with black velvet trimmings, 
three rows of gold ball buttons on the coat and black velvet breast 
front. Dark green pantaloons and black velvet stripe, the whole 
trimmed with gold cord, and with a shamrock, in gold, at each end 
of the collar. 

On the 11th of May the following non-commissioned officers 
were elected : 

Sergeants — D. C. Waters, John W. Elliott, W. F. Pumphrey, 
J. M. S. Wiatt, Wm. C. Wickings. 

Corporals — Chas. S. Dashiel, Geo. W. Peed, S. W. Spratt, 
Tlios. J. Henderson, John W. White, Wm. R. James. 

On the 5th of July, the 4th being Sunday, the company bor- 
rowed a flag from the Juniors and muskets from the Blues, and 
made its first parade, turning out with 59 men. A handsome flag 
was presented to the company in the Odd. Fellows building, on 
the 19th of August. On one side was a bust of ex-Mayor Hunter 
Woodis and on the other the coat of arms of Virginia and the in- 
scription " Pace Ci/ves, Bello Milites" which, being interpreted, 
meant, " In peace, citizens ; in war, soldiers." 

On the 22d of February, 1859, the company made its first an- 
niversary parade, with sixty-seven men in line. The following 

262 



WOODIS EIFLEMEN, CO. C, SIXTH VA. REGT. 263 

winter it went to Harper's Ferry, on the occasion of the John 
Brown war, and remained in Charlestown until the last of the 
gang was hung. Its first duty in connection with the war between 
the North and South was on the 7th of March, 1861, when it did 
guard duty all night in the city of Norfolk. It was again or- 
dered out on the 18th of April, and remained in service from that 
time continuously until the close of the war. On the night of the 
19th of April, it was present at the removal of the powder from 
Fort Norfolk, and after that was accomplished was marched to 
the old Custom House at the foot of Church street. On the 21st 
the company was sent to Ocean Yiew and a detachment of it, 
under command of Captain Lamb, participated in the defence of 
Seawell's Point battery against the attacks of the Monticello on 
the 19th and 21st of May. Upon the formation of the 6th Vir- 
ginia Regiment, Colonel ¥m. Mahone was assigned to it as com- 
mander, and the Woodis Riflemen were attached to it as Com- 
pany C. Captain Lamb resigned the captaincy of the company 
in August, and on the 22d of the same month Lieutenant Robert 
B. Taylor, of Company A, was elected to succeed him. The offi- 
cers of the company, when it was mustered into service on the 
19th of April, 1861, were : 

Captain, Wm. Lamb. 

First Lieutenant, John Hayman ; 2d Lieutenant, AVm. Sher- 
wood ; 3d Lieutenant, Almaine A. Gwaltney. 

• First Sergeant, David C. Watters ; 2d Sergeant, James M. F. 
"Wiatt ; 3d Sergeant, Alex. J. Denson ; 4th Sergeant, Thos. J. 
Henderson. 

Lieutenant Sherwood was appointed commissary of the regi- 
ment, and, in May, 1862, at the reorganization of the field officers 
of the 6th Regiment, Captain Taylor was elected major, and at a 
meeting of the Woodis Riflemen, held during that month for the 
purpose of reorganization and re-enlistment, 1st Lieutenant John 
Hayman was elected Captain, David C. Waters 1st Lieutenant, 
Alexander J. Denson 2d and James W. Dashiel 3d. Thos. J. 
Henderson was elected 1st Sergeant. Lieutenant Waters was 
killed in the battle of Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862. Captain 
Hayman resigned on the 11th of March, 1863, and Lieutenants 
Denson and Dashiel resigned on the 17th, thus leaving the com- 
pany without commissioned officers. On the 4th of April, 1863, 
2d Lieutenant George F. Crawley, of Company D, was elected 
Captain, 3d Sergeant Stewart Spratt was elected 1st Lieutenant, 
and on the 9th, Private Thomas W. Phillips was elected 2d Lieu- 
tenant. 

Lieutenant Spratt was killed at the battle of the Crates, July 
30th, 1864, and 1st Sergeant Henderson was severely wounded 
there. Sergeant James M. F. Wiatt was elected 3d Lieutenant in 
Company D. Captain Crawley lived through the war and escaped 



264 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

without a wound. He was captured at Chancellorsville and ex- 
changed. At the breaking out of the war the Woodis Riflemen 
had a very fine drum corps attached to the company, which was 
subsequently transferred to the regiment. The men composing it 
were John B. Bohlein, John Flalack, John Foelman, Henry 
Haggedhorn, Henry Hastings, Robert Lilliston, Anson Palmer, 
Geo. W. Skinner and Edward Wiersdorf. 

After his resignation in March, 1863, Lieutenant Denson en- 
listed in the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues as a private. 

Below will be found the names of the members of the company 
who served with it after the evacuation of Norfolk by the Con- 
federates : 

Captain Wm. Lamb, promoted to Colonel 36th North Carolina Eegiment 

August, 1861. 
Captain Robert B. Taylor, elected Captain August 18th, 1861, promoted 

Major 6th Virginia Regiment, April, 1862. 
Captain John Hayman, elected May 3d, 1862, resigned March 11th, 1863, 

on account of defective eyesight. 
Captain George F. Crawley, promoted April 4th, 1863, from 2d Lieutenant 

Company 1). 
First Lieutenant David C. Waters, elected Mav 3d, 1862, killed July 1st, 

1862, Malvern Hill. 
Second Lieutenant Alex. J. Denson, promoted 1st Lieutenant July 1st, 

1862, resigned March 17th, 1863. 
Third Lieutenant James W. Dashiell, promoted 2d Lieutenant July 1st, 

1862, resigned March 17th. 1863. 

First Sergeant Thomas J. Henderson, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 
Second Sergeant James M. F. Wiatt, elected Lieutenant in Company D. 
Third Sergeant Stewart M. Spratt, promoted 1st Lieutenant April 1st, 

1863, killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Third Sergeant Samuel Crane, wounded May 2d, 1863, at Chancellorsville, 

and May 6th, 1864, at the Wilderness. 
Fourth Sergeant Timothy I). Padgett, captured July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Fifth Sergeant Henry A. Tarrall, promoted Commissary Sergeant, captured 

on retreat from Petersburg, 1865. 
First Corporal Alex. Mason, captured on retreat from Petersburg, 1865. 
Second Corporal Wm. H. Frost, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' 

Mill. 
Third Corporal John J. Williams, promoted Sergeant, killed May 6th, 1864, 

at Wilderness. 
Fouith Corporal Arthur J. Balsom. 

PRIVATES. 

Angel, John R., discharged on account of disability. 
Ashbury, John, wounded May 2d, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 
Bell, Washington. 

Bateman, Arthur, captured July 2d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Brown, Edward. 

Buchanan, Robert, wounded July 30th, 1864, at the Crater. 
Balsom, Arthur J., captured July 2d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Bland, Samuel. 

Bourk, John, wounded July 1st, 1862, at Malvern Hill. 
Belote, John W. 

Clarke, John J., promoted Corporal, captured May 12th, 1864, at Spotsyl- 
vania C. H. 
Corprew, Samuel S., died in hospital July 27th, 1862. 
Coleman, John M. 



WOODIS RIFLEMEN, CO. C, SIXTH VA. EEGT. 265 

Doyle, Nathan C. captured July 2d, 1868. at Gettysburg-. 
Edmonds, John T., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 
Fredericks, Lewis, wounded and captured August 19th, 1864, at Davis' 

Farm. 
Face. James P., discharged July 28th, 1862, over age. 
Flannagan, John T., wounded Sept. 17th, 1862, at Sharpsburg, aud June 

22d. 1864, at Wilcox Farm. 
Fentress, Hillary, wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas, lost a leg. 
Gauley, John R. 

Garrett, Edward, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 
Gale, Peter M., detailed as brigade butcher. 
Hopkins, John, discharged July 28th, 1862, over age. 
Ishon, George, captured July 2d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Joyce, John M. 

Land, Thomas F., captured April, 1865, ou retreat from Petersburg. 
Nellums, Win. 

Owens, Amnion H., killed May 2d, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 
Peters, John, died in hospital October 22d, 1862. 
Powell, Henry. 

Peed, John W., discharged December 3d, 1862, disability. 
Phillips, Thomas W. , elected 2d Lieutenant April 9th, 1863, promoted to 

1st Lieutenant October 20th, 1864, captured October 27th, 1864, at 

Burgess' Mill. 
Pitt, Wm. J., killed May 2d, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 
Pumphrey, Lemuel, promoted Corporal July 1st, 1863. 
Ramsay, T., died in hospital, 1863. 

Roberts. John R., captured July 2d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
Shipp, Wm. T. 

Small, Caleb, killed June 21st, 1862, Charles City Road. 
Sledd, Joseph, wounded May 6th, 1864, at Wiklerness. 
Sigman, Jehu, Sr., conscript from Franklin county, wounded May 6th, 1864, 

at Wilderness, and died June 24th. 
Sigman, Jehu, Jr., captured May 12th, 1861, at Spotsylvania. 
Sigman, Peter, wounded May 6th, 1864, at AVilderness, wounded and cap- 
tured April 7th, 1865, on retreat from Petersburg. 
Sigman, Joseph M., wounded June 25th, 1864, Petersburg. 
Stanley, Robert J., captured June 6th, 1864, Cold Harbor. 
Sheppard, John H. 

Taylor, Richard, captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 
Tarrant, Eleazer, wounded July 1st, 1862, at Malvern Hill. 
Talbot, John B., wounded May 6th, 1864, at Wilderness, and died May 15th. 
Turner, George W. 

Wright, Joseph, Sr., discharged July 28th, 1862, over age. 
Wright, Joseph A., wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Woodhouse, John J., ..promoted Corporal, died in hospital May 28th, 1863. 
Wynn, Benjamin P., wounded August 30th, 1862, at Second Manassas, 

July 2d, 1863, at Gettysburg, and October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' 

Mill. 
White, Thomas R., killed May 1st, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 
Walters, Alfred, wounded August 39th, 1862, at Second Manassas. 
Wray, John W., detailed as wagon driver June 24th, 1862. 
Wallace, Wm , transferred to Marvland line July 12th, 1862. 
Webster, W. D., died in hospital, 1862. 
Young, Martial, died in hospital, 1862. 
Young, J. B., died in hospital, 1862. 
. Killed and died — 16. 



18 



CHAPTER XXXY. 

THE NORFOLK LIGHT INFANTRY, COMPANY P, SIXTH VA. REGIMENT. 

Tins company was raised in Norfolk immediately upon the be- 
ginning of trouble between the sections, and was mustered into 
service before it was uniformed. The officers of the company at 
its organization and who were mustered in with it, were : 

Captain, John P. Ludlow. 

First Lieutenant, Montford N. Stokes ; 2d Lieutenant, James 
Malbon ; 3d Lieutenant, Geo. F. Crawley. 

First Sergeant, Robert J. Carty ; 3d Sergeant, Geo. F. Clarke ; 
4th Sergeant, Win. F. Carty. 

The company was attached to the 6th Virginia Regiment as 
Company D, and, uniting with the regiment at once, lost its iden- 
tity as a separate organization. During the first year of the war 
the following members were honorably discharged for various rea- 
sons, which, however, were not specified in the muster rolls : 

Davis Ballentine, Edwin Craig, Geo. F. Clark, Dennis Harding, 
Wm. Harrison, .Henry Messfield, Geo. Sturgeon, Franklin A. 
Sibley, Geo. Walther, Wm. Young. 

At the reorganization of the company, Captain John R. Lud- 
low was re-elected captain, 1st Sergeant Robt. J. Carty was re- 
elected, and Lieutenants Stokes and Crawley were elected 1st and 
2d Lieutenants respectively, and James M. F. Wiatt 3d Lieuten- 
ant. Sergeant Carty was killed at the battle of Sharpsburg Sep- 
tember 17th, 1862, and Robert Banks became 1st Sergeant of the 
company, and Wm. F. Carty was advanced to 2d Sergeant. 

On the 4th of April, 1863, Lieutenant Crawley was elected 
Captain of Company C, 6th Virginia Regiment, and resigned his 
commission in Company D. Lieutenant Wiatt resigned on the 
14th of May, 1863, and Lieutenant Stokes was mortally wounded 
at the battle of Bristoe Station October 14th, 1863, and died on 
the 14th of November. Corporal C. C. Benson was elected 2d Lieu- 
tenant April 7th, 1863, and Private E. H. Flournoy was elected 
1st Lieutenant on the 17th of May, 1864. Captain Ludlow's 
health broke down during the war, and upon the recommendation 
of the regimental surgeon, he was detailed by special order, on 
account of disability, December 30th, 1862, and assigned to duty 
enrolling conscripts. " He rejoined the company in 1863. The 
relative mortality of the company was, with one exception, greater 
than that of any other Norfolk company, for of the seventy-six 
men who left the city with it on the 10th of May, 1862, twenty- 
three were killed or died from disease contracted in the service. 

Among the list of those who died or were wounded are three 

266 



NORFOLK LIGHT INFANTRY, CO. I), SIXTH VA. REGT. 267 

men who joined Company D, from Captain John H. Myers' 
Company, of Portsmouth, (formerly Company E, 6th Regiment) 
when that company was disbanded on the 1st September, 1861. 
They are John Ballance, died in hospital September 1st, 1862 ; 
Jos, P. Jordan, died April 20th, 1863, and John Frestine, wounded 
August 30th, 1862, and June 1st, 1864 fm. White and John 
W. Elliott, also joined Company D, from Captain Myers' Com- 
pany. 

The following is the roster of the company as per muster roll 
of May and June, 1862 : 

Captain, John R. Ludlow. 

First Lieutenant, Montford N. Stokes, wounded Oct. 14th, 1863, at Bristoe 

Station, and died Nov. 14th. 
Second Lieutenant, Geo. F. Crawlev, promoted Captain Company C, April 

4th, 1863. 
Third Lieutenant, Jas. M. F. Wiatt, resigned May 14th, 1863. 
First Sergeant, Robert J. Carty, killed September 17th, 1862, at Sharps- 
burg. 
First Sergeant, Robt. Banks, wounded August 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas, 

and July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Second Sergeant, Win. F. Carty, wounded August 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas, 

' and disabled. 
Third Sergeant, Wm. White, transferred to navy January 22d, 1864. 
Fourth Sergeant, Wm. Moore. 
Fifth Sergeant, Wilson Coates, wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater, and 

died August 6th. 
First Corporal, James E. Brady, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' 

. Mill. 
Second Corporal, Chris. C. Benson, promoted 2d Lieutenant April 7th, 1863, 

captured Oct. 27th, 1864. 
Third Corporal, Wm. Stine. 
Fourth Corpora], Stephen Blunt, wounded June 21st, 1862, on Charles City 

Road, and died July 3d. 
Musician, Thos. Lowery. 

PRIVATES. 

Abdell, Thos. F. 

Austin, Martin. 

Absolem, Thos., died in hospital, April, 1863. 

Adams, Thos. S. 

Bradlev, Edward PL 

Ballentine, Thos., wounded May 3d, 1863. 

Balance, John, died in hospital, September 1st, 1862, at Salem. 

Burgess, Miles, died in hospital, Aug. 28th, 1863, Staunton. 

Corprew, Geo., killed Aug. 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas. 

Clarke, Wm. H. 

Donald, Caleb J., died in hospital, Sept. 27th, 1862. 

Dixon, Geo. W., wounded July 30th, 1884, at Crater. 

Evans,' Peter, wounded July 1st, 1862, at Malvern Hill. 

Ktheredge, Geo. W., wounded May 6th, 1864, at Wilderness. 

Elliott, John W., captured July 5th, 1863, in Pennsylvania. 

Frestine, John W, wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, at 2d Manassas, and June, 
1864, at Hanover Junction. 

Fulcher, Gabriel F., died in hospital, Oct., 1864, Richmond. 

Fisher, Jas. E., died in hospital, April 7th, 1863. 

Fowler, Robt., captured September 14th, 1862, Crampton Gap, and ex- 
changed. 



268 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Flournoy, E. H., promoted 1st Lieutenant, May 17th, 1864. 

Gills, Jos. P., killed Sept. 14th, 1862, at Crampton Gap. 

Hollingsworth, John J. 

Hogwood, John. 

Hopkins, Andrew. 

Harrell, John W., wounded Sept. 14th, 1862, Crampton Gap, and died De- 
cember 26th, in Charlestovvn. 

James, Jos. P., wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater, and died Aug. 6th. 

James, Richard Y., captured Oct. 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Johnson, Wm, W. 

Jordan, Jos. P., died in hospital, April 20th, 1863. 

Jollie, Geo. F., conscript from Isle of Wight, killed Oct. 27th, 1864, at Bur- 
gess' Mill. 

Kelly, Wm. 

Lawrence, Geo. W., wounded, 1863. 

Minnis, Clinton C. 

Morris, Frank. 

McCoy, Joseph. 

Moreland, Robt., promoted Sergeant. 

Martin, Samuel J. 

Martin, Joshua, wounded June 29th, 1862, Charles City Road, and died July 
1st, conscript from Patrick county. 

Nottingham, Obed. 

Oakley, Thos. 

Owens, John. 

Parr, Wm. 

Purdy, John J., died in hospital, Oct. 31st, 1862, Richmond. 

Ruthledge, Absolem F., captured Oct. 27th. 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Robinson, Benj. 

Ralph, John, captured Oct, 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Swift, Wm. H., promoted Sergeant March, 1863. 

Scarft, Wm., died in hospital, July 5th, 1863. 

Spencer, Levi. 

Trifford, Wm., wounded May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania C. H. 

Thoroughgood, Geo., wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, at 2d Manassas, and died 
Oct. 1 st, at Warrenton. 

Taylor, James, wounded Sept. 17th, 1862,- at Sharpsburg, and disabled. 

Taylor, David R., wounded Sept. 14th, 1862, at Crampton Gap. 

Voss, James. 

Wills, Geo. T., wounded May 6th, 1864, at Wilderness. 

Williams, Robt. S. 

Wilkins, Wm. F., died in hospital, Feb. 10th, 1863, Richmond. 

Wood, James M. 

Wood, Alexander, died in hospital, Aug. 1st. 1862, at Liberty. 

Woodhouse, Chas., captured sick in hospital, July 14th, 1863, at Hagers- 
town, Maryland. 

Warren, W. J., died in hospital, Julv 15th, 1862, Richmond. 
Killed and died— 23. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

COMPANY F, COMPANY G, SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 



, WXU.X AJ .1 A vjt. 



This company was organized in 1859, and when it entered the 
service of the Confederate States, or rather the State of Virginia, 
it was the largest infantry company in Norfolk, numbering on 
its roll about one hundred and twenty-five or thirty members. 
Quite a large number of them were promoted to positions in other 
commands or given staff appointments. The officers of the com- 
pany when it was first mustered into service were : 

Captain — Henry W. Williamson. 

First Lieutenant, W. W. Chamberlaine ; 2d Lieutenant, Edward 
M. Hardy ; 3d Lieutenant, Duncan Robertson, Jr. 

First Sergeant, John T. Lester ; 2d Sergeant, Adolph H. 
Jaqueman ; 3d Sergeant, Edward A. Dodd ; 4th Sergeant, James 
B. Marsden. 

First Corporal, Robert CI. Portlock ; 2d Corporal, George K. 
Goodridge; 3d Corporal, Jonathan R. Smith ; 4th Corporal, F. E. 
Goodrich. 

The company, from its organization, was named "Company 
F," and by that name it was known. It was attached to the 6th 
Virginia Regiment as Company G. It mustered under arms on 
the 19th of April, 1861, and took part in the removal of the 
powder from the United States magazine at Fort Norfolk that 
night, and was ordered to Craney Island as a part of the garrison 
at that post. There it had charge of a battery of heavy guns. At 
the reorganization of the company in April, 1862, Captain Wil- 
liamson was re-elected, Lieutenant Chamberlaine declined a re- 
election and retired from the company to another field of duty, 
and Edward M. Hardy, Duncan Robertson, Jr., and John T. Les- 
ter were elected 1st, 2d and 3d Lieutenants respectively. Cap- 
tain Williamson was elected Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, 
Lieutenant Hardy was promoted to Captain, and the other two 
Lieutenants were advanced one grade each, leaving the 3d Lieu- 
tenantcy vacant, and when the company was near Drury's Bluff, 
in May, 1862, this was tendered to the former Lieutenant, W. W. 
Chamberlaine, and accepted by him, thus renewing his connec- 
tion with the company. The officers, therefore, when it entered 
upon the stage of actual warfare were : 

Captain — Edward M. Hardy. 

First Lieutenant, Duncan Robertson, Jr.; 2d Lieutenant, John 
T. Lester; 3d Lieutenant, Wm. W. Chamberlaine. 

First Sergeant, John R. Catlett. 

Lieutenant Chamberlaine was wounded at Sharpsburg Septem- 

269 



270 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

ber 17th, 1862, was detached from the company in December, 
1862, and was promoted to Captain and A. A. G. on the staff of 
General Walker, Chief of Artillery of the 3d Corps, Army of 
Northern Virginia. Lieutenant Lester was captured at Crampton 
Gap September 14th, 1862, was exchanged, rejoined the company 
and was killed on the 12th of May, 1864, at the battle of Spotsyl- 
vania Court House. Lieutenant Robertson was severely wounded 
at Sharpsbnrg, but recovered, rejoined the, company, and was 
captured October 27th, 1S64, at' the battle of Burgess 5 Mill. 
Captain Hardy was wounded onthe22dof June, 1864, at Wilcox's 
Farm, but recovered and rejoined the company. 

The company remained on duty atCraney Island until the 10th 
of May, 1862, when the island was evacuated by the Confeder- 
ates. It then marched to Suffolk with the rest of the troops and 
there took the cars for Petersburg, where it joined its regiment. 
During the battle at Drury's Bluff between the shore batteries 
and the Federal fleet composed of the Monitor, Galena and Nang- 
atnck, Company G was stationed on the bluffs below the battery 
as sharpshooters and did considerable injury among such of the 
crews of the three vessels as exposed themselves upon the decks. 
After that, the company returned to the regiment and did duty 
with it to the end of the war. The company lost very heavily at 
the battles of Malvern Hill and Second Manassas. In the first, 
Jive of its members were killed or mortally wounded, and at the 
last, four sacrificed their lives upon the altar of their country's 
liberty. Among these last were Wm. G. Ridley, of Southamp- 
ton county, a gallant youth scarcely more than twenty years of 
age, who was attending school at the University of Virginia when 
the war broke out, and joined Company G in order to be with 
his friends. Another, about the same age, John B. Merritt, of 
Brunswick county, a student at Randolph-Macon College, and a 
stranger in Norfolk, left college .and joined this company on ac- 
count of the friends he had in it. He was mortally wounded in 
the same battle in which Buck Ridley was killed. 

Mahone's Brigade suffered quite severely at Second Manassas 
and about half of the remainder were lost at Crampton Gap, 
where it was sacrificed to hold Franklin's Corps in check until 
the fall of Harper's Ferry. Those who escaped fell back into 
Pleasant Valley and made the forced march to join General Lee 
at Sharpsbnrg. The brigade had been reduced so much by the 
casualties of battle and the fatigue of that extraordinary march 
that when it arrived upon the field of Sharpsbnrg it was scarcely 
larger than a full company, and Company G consisted of Lieu- 
tenants Robertson and Chamberlaine and Private Chandler W. 
Hill. Private George M. Todd came up during the progress of 
the battle. In this battle Lieutenant Robertson received a se- 
vere wound, which disabled him. At the battle of the Crater 



COMPANY F, COMPANY G, SIXTH VA. REGIMENT. 271 

every man in the company who was present in the fight was 
either killed or wounded. Chandler W. Hill, then a Corporal, 
lost his arm there. The few men in the company who reached 
the battle field at Sharpsburg did good service while there. The 
remnant of the brigade, about eighty men, halted in rear of the 
town of Sharpsburg and was conducted by General Pryor, to 
whose brigade it was temporarily attached, to a piece of ground 
near the Piper House, in rear of the main line of battle. The 
Hagerstown road runs due north from Sharpsburg, and Dr. Pi- 
per's house is located to the right of the road, with a lane leading 
to it at right angles from the road, and on the. side of this lane 
was a stone fence. General D. H. Hill's line of. battle extended 
across the angle formed by the lines of the road and lane, about a 
quarter of a mile from the point of junction. As soon as the men 
reached that point the Federal artillery opened a terrific fire 
upon them. Some ran forward and reached the line of battle, but 
the larger portion sought shelter. It was here that Lieutenant 
Robertson was wounded, and Lieutenant-Colonel Parham, of the 
41st Virginia, commanding the brigade, ordered Lieutenant Cham- 
berlaine to go to the rear and report to General Anderson the 
condition of affairs. Lieutenant Chamberlaine had not gone far in 
the execution of the order when he learned that General Ander- 
son had been wounded. He was then near the head of Piper's 
lane, and noticed a six-pounder brass field piece and limber chest 
on the Hagerstown road which had been left there by the com- 
pany to which it belonged. Just then the line" of battle began 
falling back, and, getting a few men to help him, Lieutenant 
Chamberlaine dragged the gun into a commanding position, and, 
with the assistance of several other officers, rallied a number of 
the retreating infantry behind the stone fence. This force was 
continually increasing as stragglers would come up, and pretty 
soon the enemy made his appearance in front, preceded by a line 
of skirmishers. Lieutenant Chamberlaine obtained permission 
from Major Fairfax, of General Longstreet's staff, to open fire 
with the gun, and after a few rounds the enemy retired, but their 
artillery opened on this solitary piece such a heavy fire that it was 
moved to another position near the head of Piper's lane, where 
it could command the ground in its front and yet be somewhat 
sheltered from the enemy's batteries. Subsequently the enemy 
made three attempts to advance, but the well directed fire of that 
gun repelled them each time before they came within range of 
the fire of the infantry behind the stone fence. Lieutenant Cham- 
berlaine sighted the gun and served the vent, and his gun's crew 
was composed of Georgia infantrymen of Colonel G. T. Ander- 
son's Brigade, (General Jones, its commander, was wounded) 
with Privates Chandler W. Hill and George M. Todd, of Company 
G, as infantry supports. 



272 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

After tins third repulse there was a lull for about two hours, 
and as it became desirable to ascertain what the enemy were en- 
gaged in, Colonel "Win. Gibson, of the 48th Georgia Regiment, 
threw forward a strong line of skirmishers and met a full line of 
battle beginning to advance. The determined stand made by 
these skirmishers induced the enemy to believe they were backed 
up by a heavy force and caused them to suspend their contem- 
plated attack. Thus ended the fighting on that part of the field, 
except by the enemy's artillery, which disabled Lieutenant Cham- 
berlaine. The gun is said to have belonged to the Huger Battery 
of Norfolk, and was one of the guns which the Norfolk Blues 
had before the war, and which was turned over to Captain Huger. 
The battery had been engaged at that point earlier in the day, 
but, being ordered to another part of the field, had to leave that 
gun behind, as the horses belonging to it had been killed. The 
company sent a detachment for it that night and carried it off. 

At the commencement of hostilities Colonel Walter II. Taylor, 
who wasso well known throughout the Army of Northern Virginia 
as General Lee's Adjutant General, was a Lieutenant in Company 
G, but served only a few days with it before receiving an ap- 
pointment in the Provisional Army, with the subsequent assign- 
ment to the staif of General Robert E. Lee. 

Colonel Anderson, in his report of the action of his brigade at 
Sharpsburg, mentions the incident of the gun and says : "At this 
point I found a 6-pounder gun, and getting a few men to assist 
in placing it in position, a Lieutenant of infantry, whose name or 
regiment I do not know, served it most beautifully until the am- 
munition was exhausted." 

Colonel Anderson is mistaken about the ammunition being ex- 
hausted. The gun ceased firing only when the enemy retired be- 
yond its range. The fire of this gun is referred to also in the 
Federal reports, of the battle, by Brigadier General J. C. Caldwell, 
commanding the brigade which made the attack, and by Major 
General W. S. Hancock, both of whom thought there were two 
guns instead of one. They report that Colonel F. C. Barlow, 
commanding; the 64th and 61st New York Regiments (consoli- 
dated), was wounded in the groin by a shrapnel from it. 

Below will be found the muster roll of the company for May, 
1862, with one recruit added in 1864 : 

Captain Edward M. Hardy, wounded June 22d, 1864, Wilcox's Farm. 
First Lieutenant Duncan Robertson, Jr., wounded September 17th, 1862, 

Sharpsburg, captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 
Second Lieutenant John T. Lester, captured September 14th, 1862, at 

Crampton Gap. killed May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania C. H. 
Third Lieutenant Wm. W. Chamberlaiue, promoted Captain and A. A. G. on 

staff of General Walker, Chief of Artillery 3d Corps, December, 1863, 

wounded September 17th, 1862, at Sharpsburg. 
First Sergeant John R. Catlett. 



COMPANY F, COMPANY O, SIXTH VA. REGIMENT. 273 

Second Sergeant Charles A. McCourt, wounded July 1st, 1862, at Malvern 
Hill and disabled, discharged November 12th, 1862. 

Third Sergeant Albert B. Simmons, wounded October 14th, 1863, at Bristoe 
Station, and died October 15th. 

Fourth Sergeant Howard S. Wright, wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, Second Ma- 
nassas, promoted Ensign 6th Regiment, killed July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

First Corporal Wm. H. Langley, detailed in Commissary Department April 
27th, 1863, rejoined company and captured October 27th, 1864, Bur- 
gess' Mill. 

Second Corporal Oscar M. Styron, wounded August 30th, 1862, at Second 
Manassas and disabled, discharged March 1st, 1863. 

Third Corporal John T. Hill, promoted Sergeant April 25th, 1863, wounded 
July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Fourth Corporal James L. D. Butt, appointed Hospital Steward November 
22d, 1862. 

Fifth Sergeant Wm. McLean, wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, and 
died in hospital. 

PRIVATES. 

Archer, Robert L., detailed in Division Provost Guard, Sept. 25th, 1862. 

Arlington, Peter, promoted Corporal March 24th, 1863, Sergeant Major 
30th North Carolina Regiment. 

Biggs, Wm. Gr., wounded August 30th, 1862, at Second Manassas and died 
August 31st. 

Baylor, Robert B., captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 

Bell, Douglas, wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas, transferred to 
18th Battalion Va. Heavy Artillery January 26th, 1864. 

Biggs, James H., died in hospital October, 1862. 

Bell, Hobt. S., detailed in Commissary Department, 1862, and transferred to- 
18th Virginia Battalion Heavy Artillery November 13th, 1862. 

Bell, James N., wounded June 21st, 1862, disabled and discharged, ap- 
pointed Sergeant Major 6th Virginia Regiment November 16th, 1863. 

Chismau, John R., discharged 1864. 

Clark, Fred W., discharged for disability, November, 1862. 

Cole, Cornelius M., killed October 14th, 1863, Bristoe Station. 

Core, John H., discharged for disability November, 1862. 

Deiches, W., detailed in hospital, 1862, discharged for disability, 1 864. 

De.y, James B. 

Etheredge, , captured September 14th, 1862, at Crampton Gap. 

Fentress, Thomas, appointed Hospital Steward October 12th, 18(52. 

Fitchett, Julius M., transferred to Griffin's Battery, October 22d, 1862. 

Fletcher, Oliver N., wounded June 21st, 1862, and never rejoined company. 

Freeman, Robert, captured July 13th, 1863, in Maryland, exchanged and 
appointed Master's Mate in the Navy, June, 1864. 

Gordon, John 1)., captured October 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

Gordon, Win., R. appointed Hospital Steward, August 16th, 1862. 

Goodridge, F. E. detached May 1st, 1861. 

Goodridge, Geo. K., detached October 27th, 1862. 

Hill, Chandler, W., promoted Corporal, lost arm July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Holmes, Alex. T., detailed in Quartermaster's Department, 1862, captured 
October 27th, 1864. 

Hipkins, Richard, wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas, and de- 
tailed in Quartermaster's Department, February 18th, 1864. 

Hardv, Thomas A., enlisted in coinpanv Sept. 14th, 1864, captured Octo- 
ber 27th, 1864. 

Jones, Johu S., promoted Caotain on General Garnett's staff and wounded 
July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Kerr, Edward. 

King, J. Barry, promoted Sergeant Major 6th Va. Regiment May 25th, 1S63, 
promoted Captain and Quartermaster Lightfoot's Artillery Battalion. 

Langhorne, AVm. W., detached August 12th, 1864, in Lynchburg. 



274 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Lawson, Adrian S., transferred to Company A, 5th Virginia Cavalry, De- 
cember 9th, 1864-. 

Marsden, B. A., captured September 14fch, 1862, at Crampton Gap, ex- 
changed and promoted to 2d Lieutenant P. A. C. S. 

Merritt, John B., mortally wounded August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas, 
and died in hospital at Warrenton. 

Moore, Walter S., promoted Sergeant Major 61st Virginia Regiment March 
22d, 1863, promoted Ensign, 1863. 

McPhail, Charles H., killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

McKenny, Win. N., detailed in Army Intelligence Office, July 1st, 1862. 

Murray, John, furnished substitute and discharged. 

Myrick, David, wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, a,nd died in hospital. 

Pentz, George McK., transferred to Maryland line, 1862. 

Reid, James T. S., promoted 1st Lieutenant Ordnance on General Loring's 
staff. 

Reynolds, Henry S., detailed in Commissary Department, November 21st, 
1862, discharged 1864. 

Robinson, Wm. C, killed October 14th, 1863, at Bristoe Station. 

Robinson, Wm., wounded August 30th, 1862, at Second Manassas, trans- 
ferred to 32d North Carolina Regiment. 

Robertson, Gary, promoted Sergeant Major, August 24th, 1864, killed at 
Hatcher's Run, February 7th, 1865. 

Robins, Geo. S., died in hospital, 1862, Richmond. 

Rosenburg, Mich., detailed in hospital, October 7th, 1862. 

Rowe, Stephen D., transferred to Company A, 5th Virginia Cavalry, August 
17th, 1862. 

Rowland, John H., captured September 14th, 1862, at Crampton Gap, ex- 
changed and transferred to Company D, 20th Virginia Battalion Heavy 
Artillery, December 9th, 1862. 

Ridley, Wm. G-, killed August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

Seal, John R., discharged for disability December 27th, 1862. 

Seal, Wm. B., appointed Hospital Steward, October 30th, 1862. 

Smith, Jonathan K., killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Segar, John, transferred to Company H, 38th Virginia Regiment, October 
8th, 1862. 

Segar, Arthur S., promoted Lieutenant in another regiment. 

Shipp, John S. 

Smith, Henry. 

Smoot, Wm., detailed October 20th, 1862, discharged for disability, Decem- 
ber 24th, 1862. 

Southgate, Lewellyn, captured September 14th, 1862, Crampton Gap, ap- 
pointed Sergeant Major in Colonel Godwin's command. 

Stone, David D., captured May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania C. H. 

Thomas, Richard S., detailed July 1st, 1862, in Army Intelligence Office, 
Richmond. 

Todd, Geo. M. 

Umstadter, M., furnished substitute and discharged. 

Voss, Albert C, killed August 30th, 1862, Second Manassas. 

Ward, Josiah J., wounded August 30th, 1862, at Second Manassas. 

Whiting, Wm. N., captured July 30th, 1864, at the Crater. 

Wliitehurst, Frank M., promoted 1st Lieutenant Company B, September 
9th, 1863. 

Williams, John N., discharged for disability, April 6th, 1863. 

Wise, Wm. M. B., wounded June 21st, 1862, transferred to Company A, 
46th Virginia Regiment, December 13th, 1862. 

Walke, Richard, Jr., promoted Ordnance Officer Mahone's Brigade, Decem- 
ber 1st, 1862. 

Wicker, D. H. C, substitute for John Murray, died in hospital Februarv 
15th, 1863. 

Walsh, Wm. V., killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Young, Thos. A. 



COMPANY F, COMrANY G, SIXTH T A. REGIMENT. 275 

TRANSFERRED AND DISCHARGED. 

The following men who enlisted in the company at the begin- 
ning of the war were transferred to other commands or honorably 
discharged while the company was stationed on Craney Island : 

Beale, Brooke, appointed sub-officer in the navy. 

Collier, J as. M., assigned to Medical Department Aug. 30th, 1861. 

Cannon, Douglas C. , transferred to Signal Corps March 31, 1861. 

Cason, Benj. F., promoted 2d Lieutentaut Company B, 9th Va. Regiment. 

Freeman, Jos. N., appointed Engineer in the navy. 

Foromam, Columbus W., transferred to Company B, 5th Va. Cavalry, March 
23d, 1862. 

Guyot, Robert S., appointed Ordnance Sergeant 9th Va. Regiment and killed 
Aug. 28th, 1862, at Warrenton Springs. 

Gwynn, T. P., appointed Lieutenant in the Marine Corps C. S. Navy. 

Hunter, W. W., appointed Q. M. Sergeant 8th North Carolina Regiment, 
Dec. 2d, 1861. 

ITudgins, W. R., discharged for disability, 1862. 

Hyman, F. M., transferred to Signal Corps March 31st, 1862. 

Jacquimon, A. H., discharged 1862, over age. 

Keeling, Solomon S., transferred to Medical Department, Oct. 12th. 1861. 

Mapp, Richard A., transferred to Signal Corps, March 31st, 1862. 

Milhado, A. G., transferred to Signal Corps, March 31st, 1862. 

Marsden, James B., promoted Lieutenant in Bridgford's Provost Guard and 
killed. 

Morris, Jesse S., promoted in Medical Department, October 9th, 1861. 

Mallory, Chas. O'C, promoted Sergeant Major 55th Va. Regiment, Dec. 
12th, 1861. 

Portlock, Robert G., promoted Sergeant Major 9th Va. Regiment, Dec. 1st, 
1861. 

Saunders, Palmer, appointed Midshipman in the navy and killed at the cap- 
ture of the Underwriter by the Confederates. 

Stokes, Montford N., promoted Lieutenant Companv D, and killed at Bristoe 
• Station. 

Sharp, Jas. H., promoted 2d Lieutenant P. A. C. S., Sept. 2d, 1861. 

Stone, Geo. F., discharged for disability, 1862. 

Taylor, Walter H., made 2d Lieutenant P. A. C. S., promoted Adjutant Gen- 
eral on staff of General R. E. Lee. 

Tunstall, Alex., promoted Sergeant Major 6th Va. Regiment, May 6th, 1861, 
and later promoted Adjutant. 

Taylor, Robertson, appointed Quartermaster Sergeant 6th Va. Regiment, 
promoted Adjutant 6th Regiment and Adjutant General Mahone's Di- 
vision and wounded at Wilderness May 6th, 1864. 

Todd, H. S., elected Lieutenant Company B, 9th Va. Regiment. 

Urquhart, J. W., transferred to Company H, 5th Va. Cavalry, March 17th, 
1862. 

Urquhart, A. B., transferred to Company H, 5th Va. Cavalry, March 17th, 
1862. 

Wise, Win. B., promoted Lieutenant in a North Carolina Regiment. 

Walker, It. P., appointed 2d Lieutenant P. A C. S. 

Walker, Geo. B., transferred to Sussex Cavalry Aug. 10th, 1861, and killed. 

Wilkerson, Henry D., promoted 2d Lieutenant Company B, 9th Va. Regi- 
ment, and mortally wounded July 3d, 1863, at Gettysburg, died in 
prison on Johnson's Island. 

Williams, Thos. A., appointed Sergeant Major 6th Regiment, promoted 
Lieutenant in Company K. 

Walke, Isaac T., transferred to N. L. A. Blues, March 26th, 1862, promoted 
Lieutenant of Ordnance Fitz Lee's Cavalry Division, and killed in 1864 
at Woodstock. 

Williamson, Captain Henry W., promoted Lieutenant-Colonel 6th Va. Regi- 
ment, lost an arm at the Crater. 
Killed and died — 26. 



CHAPTEK XXXVII 

THE INDEPENDENT GRAYS, COMPANY H, SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

At the beginning of hostilities in April, 1861, this company was 
well equipped, well drilled, and in a very efficient condition, so 
that it responded promptly to the call of the governor for volun- 
teers, and was mustered into service on the 19th of April, 1861, 
under the following officers : 

Captain, Richard C. Taylor. 

First Lieutenant, Wm. G. Wilburn ; 2d Lieutenant, Josiah H. 
Smith ; 3d Lieutenant, David Wright. 

First Sergeant, Henry D. Reynolds ; 2d Sergeant, Geo. Hog- 
wood ; 3d Sergeant, Wm. F. Wood. 

First Corporal, Walter A. Edwards; 2d Corporal, Henry W. 
Hill ; 3d Corporal, Isaac Seldner ; 4th Corporal, Wm. 1ST. Beak. 

The Greys were among the first troops sent to Craney Island to 
take charge of the batteries which were being erected there, and 
had charge of a section of heavy guns. Life on Craney Island 
was very monotonous. The Confederates built strong earthworks 
there and manned them with heavy guns. They built bumb 
proofs and furnaces for heating shot but the enemy's vessels kept 
at a respectful distance, and the Grays had no opportunity while 
there to test their efficiency. While on the Island, the company 
was attached to the 6th Virginia Regiment, as Company II, but 
remained on the island until its evacuation on the 10th of May, 
1862, when it joined the regiment upon its arrival at Petersburg. 
Captain Taylor was promoted to Major, commanding an ar- 
tillery battalion in the entrenched camp back of Norfolk, and at 
the reorganization of the Grays in April, 1862, Lieutenant David 
Wright was elected Captain, Josiah H. Smith 1st Lieutenant, 
Wm. G. Wilbern 2d Lieutenant and Henry S. Reynolds 3d Lien- 
tenant. Lieutenant Smith was mortally wounded at the battle of 
Manassas, August 30th, 1862, and died at Aldie on the 8th of 
October. Lieutenant Reynolds was discharged on the 23d of 
January, 1863, and Thos. A. Gatch was elected 1st Lieutenant in 
1861, and remained with the company until the surrender at Ap- 
pomattox. Captain Wright was killed at the battle of the Crater 
on the 30th of July, 1864. 

One of the most gallant events of the whole war was a charge 
made on the enemy's entrenchments near Chancellorsville, May 
2d, 1862, by companies B, C and H, of the 6th Regiment. Gen- 
eral Mahone, in his official report of the affair says : " It was 
during this service of the brigade that the advance line of skirm- 
ishers of the 6th Virginia Infantry, under command of Captain 
W. Carter Williams, charged over the enemy's abatis near the 
Plank Road, tired upon them in their rifle pits, captured there 

276 



THE INDEPENDENT GRAYS, CO. H, SIXTH VA. UEGT. 277 

prisoners from four different regiments, and the colors and color 
bearer of the 107th Ohio Regiment, returning to his position with 
his handful of men, with the loss of an officer as prisoner. This 
gallant and successful sortie was made a little after dark Saturday, 
May 2d, when General Jackson's fire was heavy, and it was in 
fighting over the same ground the next morning that the valliant 
Williams fell mortally wounded/ 1 

The charge was made for the purpose of ascertaining the posi- 
tion of the enemy. The officer captured was Captain Crawley, of 
Company C, and the manner of his capture was somewhat amus- 
ing, lie had captured a Federal soldier, and when the company 
retired he thought he was following it, but in the darkness of the 
night and the thickness of the woods, he mistook his proper course 
and went towards the enemy's lines instead of his own. The 
prisoner he had with him told him he was taking the wrong direc- 
tion and, if he kept on, they would soon be inside the Federal 
lines, and the condition of affairs would be reversed. lie said he 
did not wish to return to his own lines just then, but would like 
to be captured, so that he could get a short holiday while waiting 
to be exchanged, and therefore he warned Captain Crawley that 
he was taking the wrong direction, but Captain Crawley thought 
he knew best, and kept on until, sure enough, he found himself 
in the hands of the enemy. Flis former prisoner then took him a 
prisoner and turned him over to the provost guard. 

The company was a small one, but its losses were heavy com- 
pared with its numbers. Nearly one- third of those who left Nor- 
folk with it and did service in its ranks were either killed or 
wounded. First Sergeant Seldner was killed May 3d, 1863, and 
Walter A. Edwards was promoted to fill the vacancy. He was 
present with the company in every battle in which it was engaged 
except two, and escaped without a wound. He was captured at 
Cumberland Church April 7th, 1865, two days before the surren- 
der at Appomattox Court House. 

Below will be found the roll of the company after it left Nor- 
folk, together with the list of casualties : 

Captain David Wright, promoted Captain May 1st, 1862, killed July 30th, 
1864, Crater. 

First Lieutenant Josiah H. Smith, wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas, 
died Oct. 8th. 

First Lieutenant Thos. A. Gatch, elected 1864, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Second Lieutenant Win. G. Wilbern. 

Third Lieutenant Henry S. Eeynolds, discharged Jan. 23d, 1863. 

First Sergeant Isaac Seldner, captured Sept. 14th, 1862, exchanged and 
killed May 3d, 1863, at Chancellorsville. 

Second Sergeant H. W. Hill, appointed Ordnance Sergeant June 29th, 1862, 
captured on retreat from Petersburg. 

Third Sergeant Walter A. Edwards, promoted 1st Sergeant May 8th, 1863, 
captured at Cumberland Church April 7th, 1865. 

Fourth Sergeant Geo. Hogwood. 

First Corporal Alex. M. Smith, promoted color bearer 6th Regiment, woun- 
ded Aug. 30th, 1862, at 2d Manassas. 



278 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Second Corporal Jas. A. Wirmington, promoted Sergeant May 8th, 1863. 

Third Corporal Walter R. Wellons, wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, at 2d Manas- 
sas and July 30th, 1864, at the Crater. 

Fourth Corporal John L. Simmons, wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, at 2d Ma- 
nassas, wounded May 2d, 1863, at Chancer! orsville, and died May 3d. 

PRIVATES. 

Anderson, John T., wounded May 6th, 1864, at Wilderness, and disabled. 
Abdell, Wm. H., wounded May 3d, 1863, at Chancellorsville, disabled and 

detailed in Richmond post-office. 
Boush, John T., detailed as wagon driver Dec. 4th, 1862. 
Brown, Henry F., wounded Sept. 14th, 1862, lost arm May 8th, 1864, Shady 

Grove. 
Barnes, James, hilled March 23d, 1863, by Provost Guard, Petersburg. 
Bonfanti, John, promoted Corporal. 

Beane, Wm. W., wounded May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania. 
Crockett, Geo. wounded July 30th, ]«64, at Crater, died Aug. 6th. 
Dashields, Jas. J., killed May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania C. H. 
Dunbar, John T., appointed Sergeant May 8th, 1863. 
Dunn, Wm. F., promoted Corporal, wounded June 22d,1864, captured April 

5th, 1865, at Cumberland Church. 
Dunn, Wm. A., died in hospital, Dec. 8th, 1863. 
Ferris, James. 
Gray, Wm. 

Gillerlain, Peter J., killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Higgins, Francis G, wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Ironmonger, L. M., promoted Sergeant May 5th, 1864, captured June 16th, 

.1864. 
Johnson, Wm. B. 

Johnson, Jacob T., died in hospital Aug. 7th, 1864, Richmond. 
Jacobs, Julius, wounded May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H., and supposed 

to have died. 
Laylor, Geo. 
Lewis, Geo. E. 
Mordecai, Phillip M. 

Mannix, W. R,, died in hospital, Aug. 19th, 1862, Danville. 
Mitchell, Edward F., detailed and not with the company. 
Nottingham, W. W., wounded May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H. 
Plummer, Joshua. 

Peek, Wm. N., killed July 1st. 1862, Malvern Hill. 
Ross, John R. 

Roberts, Wm. J., killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Reynolds, Wm. C., transferred to navy Sept. 3d, 1863. 
Shirley, John, died in hospital, June, 1862. 
Smith, Andrew. 

Smith, John E., promoted Corporal, transferred to navy Sept. 3d, 1863. 
Smith, Wm. J., wounded and captured May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania. 
Stubbs, Wm. J., detailed in Army Provost Guard. 
Stryker, Martin, captured Oct. 27th, 1864, at Burgess' Mill. 
Sykes. Wm. A. 

Scott, Wm. T., wounded May 12th, 1864, at Spotsylvania C. H. 
Tomlinson, Geo., transferred to navy April 8th, 1863. 
Wise, H. A., wounded Julv 30th, 1864, at Crater. 
Westbrook, D. A. 
Wise, Geo. W.. wounded September 14th, 1862, lost arm May 6th, 1864, 

Wilderness. 
AVinhall, Hiram, captured September 14th, 1862, and May 12th, 1864, 

Spotsylvania C. H. 
Wyatt, John L. 
Wood, Wm. F., wounded Sept. 14th, 1862, at Crampton Gap, and died in 

hospital July 14th, 1863. 

Killed and died— 16. 



CHAPTER XXXVIIL 

the sixth virginia regiment mahone's, weisigeii's brigade, 

huger's, Anderson's, mahone's division. 

Having given brief sketches of tlie five Norfolk . companies 
which were in this regiment, their history would not be complete 
without telling the part which the regiment played in that great 
drama which was marked by so many deeds of noble heroism. 
Of the fifty companies composing the five regiments in Ma- 
hone's Brigade, Norfolk county, including the cities of Nor- 
folk and Portsmouth, contributed sixteen, or one-third of the 
whole. Of those sixteen, six were from Norfolk city, six from 
Norfolk county, three from .Portsmouth, and one from Ports- 
mouth and the county jointly, while in another, Company B, 6th 
Regiment, Norfolk and Portsmouth were both liberally repre- 
sented, though the bulk of the company was from Princess Anne 
county. The 6th Regiment was organized almost immediately 
upon the beginning of hostilities and" was composed of the follow- 
ing companies : 

"Company A, of Norfolk city, Captain W. N. McKenney. 

.Company B, of Princess Anne, Captain W. Carter Williams. 
■ Company C, of Norfolk city, Captain Win. Lamb. 

Company D, of Norfolk city, Captain John R. Ludlow. 

Company E, of Portsmouth, Captain John LI. Myers. 

Company F, of Princess Anne, Captain George T. Rogers. 

Company G, of Norfolk city, Captain Henry W. Williamson. 

Company H, of Norfolk city, Captain Richard C. Taylor. 

Company I, of Manchester, Captain Louis Bossieux. 

Company K, of Chesterfield, Captain David M. Goode. 

The officers of the regiment were : 

Colonel — Wm. Mahone. 

Lieutenant-Colonel — Thos. J. Corprew. 

Major— Wm. T. Lundy. 

These officers were assigned to the regiment by Governor 
Letcher. First Lieutenant Robert B. Taylor, of Company A, 
was detailed as Adjutant, and Alex. Tunstall, of Company G, 
was appointed Sergeant Major. Subsequently Quartermaster 
Sergeant Robertson Taylor was appointed Adjutant. Companies 
G and H were detached and placed on duty on Craney Island, and 
Company I was stationed at the Naval Hospital battery. The 
seven other companies were together in the entrenchments near 
Norfolk. On the 1st of September, 1861, Company E was dis- 
banded by orders from headquarters, and the Nansemond Guards, 
Captain Williams, became Company E. Some time in the fall 

279 



280 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

of 1861 the 6th, 12th, 16th and 41st Virginia Regiments were or- 
ganized into a brigade, and on the 16th of November, 1861, Col- 
onel Mahone was promoted to Brigadier General. This occa- 
sioned the promotion of Lieutenant-Colonel Corprew and Major 
Lundy, and Captain George T. Rogers, of Company F, was 
elected Major. 

On the 10th of February, 1S62, upon the fall of Roanoke Is- 
land, which occurred on the 8th, the seven companies which were 
with the regiment were ordered to Coin jock, or Currituck bridge, 
at the North Carolina terminus of the Albemarle and Chesapeake 
Canal, to protect that work should the enemy put in an appear- 
ance there, and also to cover the retreat of General Wise with 
such troops as he might have saved from the wreck at Roanoke 
Island. There was a battery of three 32-pounder guns at Curri- 
tuck bridge. General Wise reached Currituck bridge on his re- 
treat and, ranking Colonel Corprew, took command and ordered 
a retreat to Great Bridge, where General linger found the regi- 
ment. General Wise was transferred to another department, and 
affairs at Great Bridge were turned over to General Mahone. 
The regiment remained in that section until General linger re- 
ceived orders to evacuate Norfolk, when it was marched to the 
city, reached there May 10th, crossed the Eastern Branch on the 
draw-bridge and took the Norfolk and Petersburg railroad cars 
for Petersburg, where it was joined by Companies G, II and I. 
On the appearance of the Federal fleet, composed of the Monitor, 
Galena, Naugatuck and Aroostook before the fort at Drury's 
Bluff on the 15th of May, Companies G and I were sent to the 
Biuff to act as sharpshooters, and every man on the vessels who 
exposed himself became a mark for their fire. They were very 
efficient aids to the fort. They were scattered along the Bluff 
lower down the river than the position at which the fort was lo- 
cated. The next day the regiment was ordered to Chaffin's Bluff 
and remained there until after the battle of Seven Pines, in which 
the other regiments of the brigade took part. 

At the reorganization of the regiment in April, prior to the 
evacuation of Norfolk, the following officers were elected : 

Colonel — George T. Rogers. 

Lieutenant-Colonel — Henry W. Williamson. 

Major— Robert B. Taylor. 

Adjutant — Alexander Tunstall. 

Adjutant Robertson Taylor was appointed by General Mahone 
Adjutant General of the brigade wdien the latter received his ap- 
pointment as Brigadier General. The field officers of the regi- 
ment w r ere peculiarly fortunate, for, though they did their duty 
w r ell and faithfully, only one of them received a wound during 
the war. Lieutenant-Colonel Williamson lost an arm at the bat- 
tle of the Crater, on the 30th of July, 186-1. Colonel Rogers and 
Major Taylor escaped unhurt. 



THE SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 281 

After the battle of Seven Pines the regiment rejoined the bri- 
gade and remained with it until the close of the war. On the 
21st of June a very unfortunate affair occurred with the regiment. 
A report reached the lines that a regiment of Federals w r as ad- 
vancing up the Charles City Road, and the first battalion of the 
6th Regiment was ordered to advance and intercept them. It 
was understood also that the 41st Regiment would take part in the 
movement. Two small private roads ran parallel with the Charles 
City Road, one on each side, and the 41st Regiment took the right 
J land one and the detachment of the 6th the othsr. The detach- 
ment was under Colonel Rogers, and the idea was that the expe- 
dition would proceed until they came up with the enemy and then 
close in on their rear and capture them. The batallion of the 6th 
passed through the outer line of Confederate pickets and these 
mistook Company I, who were uniformed with light blue pan- 
taloons, for Federals, and fired on them, wounding one man. 
After proceeding about two miles down the road, a single musket 
shot was fired from the rear and wounded three men in the de- 
tachment. A halt was then made and the men were ordered to 
retire into the woods and lie dowm. After waiting a few minutes 
for the appearance of an enemy or a repetition of the shot, and 
there being no indication of either, the line was again formed in 
the road and the march resumed. It w T as then getting towards 
dusk, and some of the men of the first battalion, looking to the rear, 
noticed the second battalion of the regiment following them, and 
only about a hundred yards behind. The second battalion was 
under command of Major Taylor, and was ordered out after the 
first battalion had left camp, and just as it was noticed from the 
first battalion, the men in the second battalion began firing upon 
the first, mistaking it for the enemy, Some of the men in the first 
battalion returned the fire until the voice of Major Taylor was 
heard and recognized, ordering his men to fix bayonets, and the 
firing on both sides ceased. The regiment was united, and having 
passed the point at which the enemy was reported to have been 
seen, without seeing anything of them, it returned to camp. In 
this unfortunate affair twenty-eight men were killed or wounded 
in the two detachments. It was in this affair that Dr. Wise, now 
a practicing dentist in Norfolk, lost his leg, and James N". Bell, 
afterwards Sergeant Major of the regiment, lost a portion of his 
hand. Some of the men in the first battalion recognized their 
comrades in the second before the firing began, and it was through 
them that it w r as brought to a stop just about the time that Major 
Taylor's voice was recognized when he gave the order to fix bay- 
onets. 

The 41st Regiment, failing to find the enemy, likewise returned 
to camp, but without having had any mishaps. Nothing of in- 
terest occurred in camp until the 25th of June. There was, in 

19 



282 . NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

n 

the meantime, an occasional skirmish with the enemy, but the 6th 
Regiment did not take part in any of them. They were confined 
principally to Wright's and Armistead's Brigades, but the action 
of the 25th seems to have been considered by General McClellan 
as of some importance. This was the first battle with the enemy 
in which the 6th Regiment was engaged, and was known as the 
battle of Oak Grove. It was an initiatory move on the part of 
General McClellan to advance his left wing nearer towards Rich- 
mond. The attack was made upon Huger's Division, and fell 
principally upon the brigades of Generals AV right and Mahone, 
though a portion of Ransom's Brigade was engaged quite 
heavily, and a portion of Armistead's Brigade slightly. All four 
brigades suffered some loss. The enemy was successfully repelled 
along the whole line of attack. On the 30th the 6th Regiment 
was exposed to a very heavy artillery fire and had three men killed 
and two wounded. In the action of the 25th the enemy was 
handsomely repulsed in front of Wright's Brigade, but one of the 
regiments, (Hill's) of Ransom's Brigade, had been forced to give 
way. Its place was occupied by the 12th Virginia and the 1st 
Battalion of the 6th, while the 49th and 41st Virginia Regiments 
and the 2d Battalion of the 6th attacked the enemy on his flank 
and rear, causing a precipitate retreat. 

At Malvern Hill, fought on the 1st of July, 1862, the 6th Reg- 
iment was very heavily engaged, and lost ten men killed, thirty- 
three wounded and eight missing. 

After Malvern Hill, General Lee pushed on towards Manassas 
after Pope, and came up with him upon the old battle ground of 
the year before. The (5th Regiment was in the midst of the mag- 
nificent charge which was made by Mahone's Brigade upon the 
enemy on the 30th of August, and contributed its share towards 
achieving that brilliant victory, one of the most important in its 
results of any during the entire war. Then followed the invasion 
of Maryland, the investment of Harper's Ferry and the battle of 
Sharpsburg. Mahone's Brigade, as a part of Anderson's Division, 
was under Jackson's command at Harper's Ferry and to it was 
assigned the duty of holding Crampton Gap, to keep the enemy 
in check until the consummation of Jackson's plans, and the sur- 
render of that town. An account of this engagement will be 
found elsewhere in this work. [See Chapter XIIL] On the 14th 
of September Franklin's Corps of 17,000 men attacked Mahone's 
Brigade of four regiments, numbering 800 men, and was held in 
check for four hours. The brigade did noble work there and paid 
a heavy penalty for it in the loss of one-half of its numbers, but 
its gallant stand gave time for Jackson to capture Harper's Ferry. 
Among the killed in this engagement was the venerable Dr. Thos. 
Newton, of Norfolk, who, though long past the military age, was 
serving as a private in Company F, 6th Regiment, the Seaboard 



THE SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. . 283 

Rifles of Princess Anne county. At Sharpsburg the brigade had 
been reduced by its losses at Manassas and Crampton Gap, and its 
fatiguing march after the fall of Harper's Ferry, to a mere skele- 
ton, scarcely as large as one of its companies at the beginning of 
the war, but this remnant made a brave stand and assisted in re- 
pelling the last attack of the enemy upon the left and left center 
of the Confederate lines. All four of the regiments in the brigade 
were present with their colors, but as the numbers in the ranks 
were small, their general and most of the field officers wounded, 
they were consolidated into one regiment, under Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Parham, of the 41st, the senior officer, and attached to Pry- 
or's Brigade. One set of colors was retained and the others were 
sent to the rear with a detail to take care of them. In this battle 
a portion of the 6th Regiment and a few Georgia troops, under 
command of Lieutenant W. W. Chamberlaine, of Company G, 
6th Virginia, got possession of a piece of artillery which had been 
abandoned by the battery to which it belonged for want of horses 
to haul it, and served it with effect upon the enemy. 

The battle of Sharpsburg was fought on the 17th of September 
and McClellan's repeated assaults were driven back along the 
whole line from right to left with terrible slaughter, and after 
waiting all day on the 18th, for a renewal of the attack, which 
never came, General Lee retired into Virginia to recuperate 
his tired troops, and in November the 61st Virginia Regiment was 
added to Mahone's Brigade. The battle of Fredericksburg took 
place on the 13th of December, and the Confederates achieved 
another brilliant victory. The 6th Regiment was in line of battle 
and exposed to a heavy artillery fire, but was not actively engaged. 
The brigade was on the left of the line and the enemy made their 
attacks upon the right and centre. A season of rest followed after 
the battle of Fredericksburg until April, 1863, when General 
Hooker began his movement across the Rapidan river, which cul- 
minated in his crushing defeat at Chancellorsville. A detail of 
three officers and thirty-five men from Mahone's Brigade was at 
work building a bridge at Germanna Ford on the 29th, when they 
were surprised by the enemy's advance in force, and nearly all 
captured. Hooker then crossed at Germanna and Ely's Fords, 
which are higher up the river than United States Ford, where 
Mahone's Brigade was stationed, and advanced down the river to- 
wards Fredericksburg, his route taking him in the rear of Mahone 
and that officer withdrew from United States Ford and formed 
line of battle, with his own and Posey's Brigades, near Chancel- 
lorsville, to check Hooker's advance until General Lee could be 
apprised of the condition of affairs and take steps to meet it. In 
the advance and battle of May 1st, Mahone's Brigade was in front 
driving back the enemy opposed to it, and taking up a position 
which it held until the consummation of General Jackson's flank 



284 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

movement against Hooker's right. On the night of the 2d Gen- 
eral Lee was very anxious to ascertain the exact position of the 
enemy's lines in his front, so that he could prepare an attack for 
the next day in connection with Jackson's corps, and three com- 
panies of the 6th Regiment, B, C and II, under command of Cap- 
tain W. Carter Williams, of Company B, were ordered to advance 
for that purpose. The advance was gallantly made, the enemy's 
rille pits were carried by storm, prisoners belonging to four differ- 
ent regiments were captured, as were also the color bearer and 
colors of the 107th Ohio Regiment. In this affair, though so 
much was accomplished, the three companies suffered no loss ex- 
cejDt the capture of Captain Crawley, of Company C, who became 
separated in the darkness from his men, and mistaking his direc- 
tion, walked into the enemy's lines. On the 3d the regiment 
moved with the brigade to Salem Church to check the advance 
of Sedgwick, who was moving upon General Lee's rear from the 
direction of Fredericksburg, and while taking up a position on the 
left of the line, the 6th Regiment was fired upon very unexpec- 
tedly by the enemy upon its flank, but, with the coolness of vet- 
erans, it formed its line under fire without disorder, and then 
drove back the attacking party. The regiment was under com- 
mand of Colonel Rogers, and in the lighting around Chancellorsville 
it lost eight men killed, thirty-three wounded and six missing. 

The success at Chancellorsville induced General Lee to invade 
Pennsylvania, and the Gettysburg campaign followed. The 6th 
Regiment was present on the battle field on the 2d and 3d of 
July, exposed to the enemy's fire, but most of the time support- 
ing other troops which were in front, and therefore not very ac- 
tively engaged, though it lost a number of men. It returned to 
Virginia with the brigade, was actively engaged in the fall cam- 
paign of 1S63, the important features of which were the engage- 
ments at Bristoe Station, October 14th, and Mine Run, Decem- 
ber 2d, after which it went into winter quarters, and was undis- 
turbed by the enemy until 1864, when General Grant began his 
overland campaign towards Richmond. Gee Lee thrust himself 
across Grant's front in the Wilderness and forced him to turn 
aside. Mahone's Brigade was on the extreme right of Longstreet's 
Corps when he made his celebrated movement to turn Grant's 
left, and had made a brilliant charge, sweeping the enemy before 
it. The 6th Regiment was on the left of the brigade, and next 
to it came the 16th. The position of the brigade was nearly at 
right angles with the line of battle, and in advance of the line. 
Longstreet wi t th his own and Jenkins' staff at the head of Jen- 
kins' Brigade, was riding down the turnpike which passed in 
front of the position held by Mahone's Brigade, and when oppo- 
site the left of Mahone's line was seen through the thick woods 
and smoke and mistaken for the enemy. Firing began and Long- 



THE SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 285 

street was wounded, thus putting a stop to the flank movement 
which he was directing, and which had already yielded such im- 
portant results. Whether the shots which produced the disaster 
came from the 6th or 16th Regiment will perhaps never he defi- 
nitely settled, but the clearest accounts of the affair locate it as 
having occurred in front of the left of the brigade. This subject and 
the battle of the Wilderness are discussed more particularly in 
the history of the 61st Regiment, chapter XXIV. 

The 6th Regiment fought through the whole of the campaign 
of 186-1, was at Shady Grove, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold 
Harbor, North Anna River, Hanover Court House, Cold Harbor, 
Turkey Ridge and Second Frazier's Farm, crossed over the James 
river and interposed between Grant's army and Petersburg, took 
part in the brilliant victories at Wilcox's Farm, June 22d, Gurley 
House, June 23d, and the Crater, July 30th. This last will rank 
with the world's most famous battles and has been made the 
theme of the artist's brush. The larger portion of the 6th Regi- 
ment was on picket duty when the news was received that the 
enemy had broken through the lines, and there was not time to 
call them in. Eighty-five men were in camp, and these fell in 
with the rest of the brigade, and hurrying to where the breech 
had been made, took part in the charge upon the enemy, and of 
the eighty-five men with the regiment, thirteen were killed, fifty 
wounded and twelve were missing. Ten escaped uninjured but 
they inflicted a loss upon the enemy of ten for one. It was in 
this battle that Lieutenant-Colonel Williamson lost his arm. En- 
sign Howard S. Wright was mortally wounded ; Captain Wright, 
of Company II, and Lieutenant Spratt, of Company C, were 
killed, and Captain Coke, of Company F, Captain Goode, of 
Company K, Lieutenant Hopper, Company A, Lieutenant Cor- 
nick, of Company F, and Lieutenant Flouruoy, of Company K, 
were wounded. 

After the Crater came the battles of Reams' Station, Burgess' 
Mill and Hatcher's Run, and when the final crash came and the 
army retreated from Petersburg, Mahone's Brigade preserved its 
organization and courage to the last, and, on the retreat it fought 
two battles and repulsed the enemy in both. At Cumberland 
Church, only two days' before the surrender at Appomattox, Ma- 
hone's men and G. T. Anderson's Brigade of Georgians, captured 
an entire brigade of Federal troops with their officers and colors. 
Virginia has reason to be proud of Mahone's Brigade, with its five 
regiments of Virginia soldiers, the 6th, 12th, 16th, 41st and 61st. 
One-third of them came from Norfolk county, including the two 
cities, while Princess Anne, Nansemond, Southampton, Isle of 
Wight, Sussex, Greenville, Chesterfield and Petersburg furnished 
the rest. One company from Richmond, the Grays, was in the 
12th Regiment. 



286 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

The following members of the Oth Regiment were present with 
the command at the surrender at Appomattox, April 9th, 1865 : 
Colonel George T. Rogers. 
Major Boot. B. Taylor. 
Adjutant Alex. Tu'nstall, Jr. 
Surgeon T. P. Temple. 
Assistant Surgeon J. T. Wilkins. 
First Lieutenant and Ensign G. E. Ferebee. 
Ordnance Sergeant Henry W. Hill. 
Hospital Steward Jas. L. D. Butt. 

COMPANY A. 

1st Sergt. Win. H. Whitehurst, Private Israel Ingram, 
Corporal Jas. Costen, Ivy Lee, 

Stokely Dyer, Jehu Shrively, 

Private Win. G. Arthur, Michael Snyder, 

A. F. Beekner, Benj. F. Wyatt. 



Thos. D. Frith, 



COMPANY B. 



Captain Wm. F. White, Private B. C. Davis, 

Sergeant John W. Moore, Wm. A. Ellison, 

Private John A. Bartlett, Wm. Warden. 

R. R. Daughtrey, 

company c. 

Sergeant Lemuel Pumphrey, Private John II. Shepherd, 

Private Peter M. Gayle, Geo. W. Turner, 

Ed. A. Johnston, John AV. Wray. 

Jos. Sigman, 

COMPANY D. 

Captain John P. Ludlow, Private Thos. S. Adams, 

Lieutenant E. H. Flournoy, Francis Morris, 

Sergeant Wm. H. Swift, Geo. T. Wiles. 
Robt. Moreland, 

COMPANY E. 

Captain Euclid Borland, Private Wm. Wynn, 

Sergeant Henry Ashburn, Jas. Holland, 

Corporal John Smith, S. J. Nelms. 

COMPANY F. 

Lieutenant Jno. S. Cornick, Private John T. Dawes, 

Sergeant John C. Gornto, Geo. E. James, 

Corporal W. T. Brock, Southey Mills, 

Private John E. Absolem, Elias A. Parsons, 

Jas. G. Braithwait, Wm. H. Seneca, 

Wm. T. Brewer, Cary Williams, 

H. W. Capps, Henry E. Whitehurst. 



THE SIXTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 287 

COMPANY G. 

Lieut. Duncan Robertson, Jr., Private Richard Hopkins, 
Corporal Chandler W. II ill, Edward Kerr, 

Robt. A. Archer, R. H. Robinson, 

Forage Master G. K. Goodrich, Geo. M. Todd, 

Private Daniel A. Beach, J. J. Ward, 

Thos. A. Hardy, Wm.I. White. 

COMPANY H. 

Captain Thos. A. Gatch, Private Jas. W. Phaup, 
Corpora] John Bonfanti, John R. Sampson, 

Private R. D. Bryant, ' Wm. S. Stubbs, 

Geo. E. Lewis, R. H. Willard, 

Ben]. W. Martin, Jas. E. Warrington. 

Robt. O. Metts, 

OOTCPANY I. 

Captain Jno. S. Whitworth, Private Thos. W. Browder, 

Lieutenant E. J. Mann, R. H. Fuqua, 

Sergeant W. D. Craig, Parker Hardgrave, 

Corporal Robt. T. Conway, Abner Seymour, 

Thos. Wormack, Dev'x Montgomery, 

Private J. D. Brock well, Edward W. Perkinson, 

Wm. E. Browder, Wm. M. Walthall. 

COMPANY K. 

Captain David M. Goode, Private A. A. Ford, 
Lieutenant T. A. Williams, M. W. Ford, 

Musician Chas. Fisher, Joshua Moseley, 

Courier Jas. B. Goode, E. T. Osborne, 

Wm. H. Pinchbeck, C. R. Dancette, 

Private Wm. II. Crutchfield, J, B. Wilkinson. 

Total commissioned officers 17 

Non-commissioned staff 2 

Enlisted men 90 

109 

It will be seen from a comparison of the above list with the 
rolls of the Norfolk companies in the regiment, that there are 
some names here which are not on the company rolls. Those 
names are men who joined the regiment after it left Norfolk, and 
not being Norfolk men, were purposely omitted. Some of them 
were conscripts and some volunteers. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE NORFOLK JUNIORS, COMPANY H, TWELFTH VIRGINIA REGIMENT. 

This company dates its organization back to the year 1802 and 
was therefore the oldest volunteer organization in Norfolk before 
the war. It took part in the war of 1812 between the United 
States and Great Britain, and was on duty in the vicinity of Nor- 
folk. It was on duty with the other Norfolk companies on the 
night of the 19th of April, 1861, when the powder in the maga- 
zine at Fort Norfolk was seized and a guard from the company 
was placed on the schooner James Buchanan with the powder, 
and accompanied it to Richmond. The officers of the company 
at that time were : 

Captain, F. F. Feiguson. 

First Lieutenant, Alex. F. Santos; 2d Lieutenant, Jno. Holmes ; 
3d Lieutenant, Joel C. White. 

First Sergeant, Henry C. Woodhouse ; Sergeant, Win. P. Ash- 
ley ; Sergeant, Robt. J. Barrett ; Sergeant, Chas. L. Beale. 

First Corporal, John R. Robins ; Corporal, John Baldry ; Cor- 
poral, Luther Walker ; Corporal. James Gray. 

There were also ninety-five privates mustered into service, mak- 
ing the total effective strength of the company one hundred and 
seven. On the morning of the 21st of April, the day after the 
United States authorities set fire to the Gosport Navy Yard, the 
company was sent there, and with two fire engines, assisted 
in subduing the flames, and on the 29th was ordered to Boush's 
Bluff to assist in building a battery at that point. The company 
was at Boush's Bluff on the 19th of May, when the Monticello 
made her attack upon the battery at Seawell's Point, and a de- 
tachment under command of Lieutenant Holmes was sent clown 
to reinforce the garrison. The men fought with the deliberation 
of veterans, and were highly complimented in the official report 
of Captain Cohmit, of the Columbus, Georgia, Light Guard, who 
commanded the post. A full account. of this affair will be found 
in chapter XXXI, ante. 

Upon the organization of the 12th Virginia Regiment, the Ju- 
niors were assigned to it as Company H, but remained on detached 
service at Boush's Bluff until the evacuation of Norfolk, on the 
10th of May, 1862, when it joined the regiment in the entrenched 
camp near Norfolk, and was carried by rail to Petersburg. The 
Juniors carried from Norfolk, in its ranks, more men than any 
other company from that city, and its losses were heavier than any 
other. One company, the Blues, was recruited after the evacua- 
tion and became a larger company than the Juniors, but the men 

288 



NORFOLK JUNIORS, CO. TT, TWELFTH VA. REGT. 289 

were not with it at the evacuation. In April, 1862, there was a 
re-election of officers and a reorganization of the company, and an 
entire change was made in the roll of the commissioned officers. 
All of the original officers were dropped and the following were 
elected : 

Captain, Thomas F. Owens. 

First Lieutenant, Henry C. Woodhouse ; 2d Lieutenant, Chas. 
Dashiell ; 3d Lieutenant, Chas. L. Beale. 

First Sergeant, Wm. H. Ramsey. 

Captain Owens was wounded at the second hattle of Manassas, 
August 30th, 1SG2, but recovered, rejoined the company and was 
with it until the end. Lieutenant Woodhouse was captured at 
Germanna Ford on the 29th of April, 1863, was subsequently ex- 
changed, rejoined the company and received a wound at Shady 
Grove, May 8th, 1864, which so disabled him that he was not able 
to again be with the company. Lie was still in hospital when the 
army surrendered at Appomattox. Lieutenant Dashiell was 
wounded and captured at Crampton Gap, September 14th, 1862, 
was exchanged, rejoined the company, but was unfit for duty and 
was discharged on the 5th of April, 1864. Lieutenant Beale was 
wounded at the battle of the Crater, July 30th, 1864, but re- 
mained with the company and was killed on the 19th of August, 
at the battle of Davis' Farm, on the Petersburg and Weldon rail- 
road. Orderly Sergeant Ramsey was wounded at the second bat- 
tle of Manassas and died from his wound in a hospital. After the 
death of Lieutenant Beale, Sergeant John F. Sale was elected 
lieutenant, and was mortally wounded at Hatcher's Run, Febru- 
ary 6th, 1865, and died February 12th. The company was very 
unfortunate in its commissioned officers, for of the five whom it 
had after the evacuation of Norfolk, two were killed and the three 
others were wounded, two of these receiving wounds which inca- 
pacitated them from further service. 

Before the evacuation of Norfolk a number of the members of 
the company were transferred toother commands, and their names 
will appear with those organizations. Privates Charles Reynolds 
and Jesse Knight got into a difficulty with some members of the 
3d Alabama Regiment, in Norfolk, on the 12th of July, 1861, and 
were so badly wounded that they were discharged as unfit for 
further military duty, and Thaddeus S. Gray was detailed on spe- 
cial secret service for the government, and subsequently appointed 
masters mate in the navy. Of the ninety-two men who left Nor- 
folk with the company, thirty found graves on the battle fields of 
Virginia and never returned. The record of the company was 
good all through the war. It participated in the following en- 
gagements, or was present in line of battle : 
Seawell's Point, May 19-21, '62, Oak Grove, June 25th, 1862, 
Seven Pines, June 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862, 



290 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Second Manassas, August 30th, North Anne River, May 21-23, 

1862, 1864, 

Crampton Gap, September 14th, Hanover C. H., May 28th and 

1862, 29th, 1864, 

Sharpsburg, September 17th, Atlee Station, June 1st, 1864, 

1862, Cold Harbor, June 2d and 3d, 
Fredericksburg, December 13th, 1864, 

1862, Turkey Ridge, June 4th to 13th, 
Zoah's Church, April 30th, '63, 1864, 

McCarthy's Farm, May 1st, '63, Frazier's Farm, June 13th, '64, 

Chancellorsville, May 2d and Wilcox's Farm, June 22d, '64, 

3d. 1863, Gurley House, June 23d, 1864, 

Salem Church, May 3d, 1863, Crater, July 30th, 1864, 

Gettysburg, July 2d and 3d, Davis' Farm, August 19th, '64, 

1863, Reams' Station, August 25th,'64, 
Bristoe Station, October 14th, Burgess' Mill, October 27th,'64, 

1863, Hicksford, December 9th, 1864, 
Mine Run, December 2d, 1863, Hatcher's Run, February 6th, 
Wilderness, May 6th, 1864, 1865, 

Shady Grove, IViay 8th, 1864, Amelia C. H., April 5th, 1865, 
Spotsylvania C. H., May 12th, Cumberland Church, April 7th, 

1864, 1865, _ 
Appomattox Court House, April 9th, 1865. 

The first battle of importance in which the company took part 
was Seven Pines, June 1st, 1862, and from that time until and 
including the second battle of Manassas, fought August the 30th, 
it lost eleven men killed. In addition to the thirty members of 
the company from Norfolk who lost their lives, two men who 
joined when the regiment was around Petersburg, were killed. 

They were William Spencer, from near Richmond, and 

Christian. 

In addition to the battles enumerated above, in which the com- 
pany was engaged with the regiment, it had quite a serious affair 
of its own on the 19th and 20th of June, 1862. The company 
was sent by itself on a scout down the Charles City road, near 
Richmond, for the purpose of ascertaining the position of the 
enemy, and while on that duty had a spirited , engagement with 
the enemy, in which it had two men, Thos. L. Connor and John 
Carlon, killed and a number wounded. General Mahone's report 
of the battle of Malvern Hill compliments the 12th Virginia Reg- 
iment very highly, and his report of the Chancellorsville battle 



" The enemy's cavalry advance on the Ely's Ford road made its 
appearance, and after a precipitate advance upon our pickets, 
(capturing several) he subsequently came upon our rear guard, the 
12th Virginia Infantry, Lieutenant-Colonel Field commanding — 
was repulsed so effectually as to leave us free from any further 



NORFOLK JUNIORS, CO. H, TWELFTH VA. REGT. 291 

annoyance during onr change of position," and further on lie says 
" the 12th Virginia, Lieutenant- Colonel Field commanding, for 
its rigid and efficient resistance to the superior foive of the enemy 
while covering the formation of our line of battle on the turnpike 
Friday, May 1st, deserves high commendation." On many other 
occasions the conduct of the regiment was very highly compli- 
mented. At the battle of the Crater, July 30th, 1S04, in which 
Mahone's Brigade achieved one of the most brilliant victories of 
the war, the 12th Regiment carried about one hundred and fifty 
men in the fight, of whom twelve were killed and twenty-six 
wounded. Of these two of the killed and three wounded were in 
Company H. 

The following men left Norfolk, May 10th, 1862, with the com- 
pany : 

Captain Thos. F. Owens, wounded August 30th, 18G2, 2d Manassas, sur- 
rendered at Appomattox. 

First Lieutenant Henry 0. Woodhonse, captured April 29th, 1S63, exchang- 
ed, wounded May 8th, 1864, at Shady Grove. 

Second Lieutenant Chas. Dashiell, wounded Sept. 14th, 1862, Crampton Gap, 
discharged April 5th, 1864. 

Third Lieutenant Chas. L. Beale, wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater, killed 
Aug. 19th, Davis' Farm. 

First Sergeant Wm. H. Ramsey, wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, 2dManasasand 
died in hospital. 

Second Sergeant Luther Walker, captured Sept. 14th, 1862, wounded May 
2d, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H. 

Third Sergeant John R. Baldry, wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, killed 
July 30th. 1864, at Crater. 

Fourth Sergeant John F. Sale, promoted Lieutenant Oct., 1864, wounded 
Feb. 6th, 1865, at Hatcher's Run, and died Feb. 12th. 

First Corporal Geo. T. Keel'e, wounded June 25th, 1862, detailed Courier 
Aug. 25th, 1863. 

Second Corporal S. F. Jordan, promoted Sergeant, wounded Aug. 19th, 
1864, Davis', Farm, surrendered at Appomattox. 

Third Corporal John M. Dashiell, died in hospital, November 4th, 1862, 
Winchester. 

Fourth Corporal E. W. Shelton, wounded June 25th, 1862, and Aug. 19th, 
1864, Davis' Farm. 

Musician Wm. Gale, discharged Aug. 25th, 1864. 

PRIVATES. 

Atkinson, Junius A. 

Anderson, Chas., transferred to Huger Batterv Mav 1st, 1862. 

Bew, Geo. W., wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas. 

Bunge, F., wounded June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines, died June 25th in hospital, 

Richmond. 
Buis, John H. 
Braithwait, Thos., promoted Corporal, killed July 1st, 1862, at Malvern 

Hill. 
Bryan, Fred. P. 

Brockett, Wm., appointed Engineer in Navy May 1st, 1862. 
Brownley, Wm. M., .surrendered at Appomattox. 
Bracey, Geo., wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, captured Sept. 14th, 1862, and 

never rejoined the company. 
Charlton. Jos., died in hospital, Dec. 14th, 1862, Lynchburg. 
Cusick, Thos., killed June 1st, 1 862, Seven Pines. 



292 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Charlton, Gary, killed Sept. 14th, 1862, Crampton Gap. 

Connor, Thos. L., killed June 19th, 1862, Charles City Road. 

Carroll, H. W., wounded May 8th, 1864, Shady Grove. 

Carlon, John, killed June 20th, 1862, Charles City Road. 

Connor, James. 

Carter, John B., captured Sept. 14th, 1862. 

Dozier, Thos L. 

Davis, Thos. H,., wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas, and died Oct. 31st 
in Warrenton. 

Davis, Wm. H., surrendered at Appomattox. 

Diggs, James, discharged July 29th, 1862, overage. 

Dobbs, Andrew J., surrendered at Appomattox! 

Dashiel, F. S., discharged July 29th, 1862, over age. 

Edmonds, Wm., wounded Api-il 29th, 1863, Germanna Ford. 

Fitzgerald, Win. 11., wounded July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill, appointed Mas- 
ter in the Navy Oct. 7th, 1863. 

Grav, Jas. R., killed June 1st, 1862, Seven Pines. 

Griffin, A. J., wounded July 30th, 1864, Crater. 

Griffin, John, died in hospital, July 6th, 1862, Richmond. 

Harris, Wm., surrendered at Appomattox. 

Hall, John P., transferred to Huger Battery May 1st, 1862. 

James, Wm. E., wounded Aug. 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm, died Aug. 25th. 

Johnson, J. Cave, transferred from Company D, May 1st, 1862, surrendered 
at Appomattox. 

Kellum, W. P. M., wounded July 1st, 1862, Aug. 30th, 1862, and disabled 
and discharged. 

Lovett, Edward J., wounded and captured October 27th, 1864, at Burgess' 
Mill. 

Lewis, Thos. J. 

Lewis, Wm. killed Aug. 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas. 

Longworth, James, captured June 22, 1864, Wilcox Farm. 

Lufsey, Ja,s., surrendered at Appomattox. 

Moore, John A. 

Marks, R. A., died in hospital, June 27th, 1862, Richmond. 

Moreland, Jas., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H. 

Moreland, Thos., died in hospital, Sept., 1864, Richmond. 

Mayer, Lewis, killed July 1st, 1862, Malvern Hill. 

Murray, Jas. T., wounded July 30th, 1864, at Crater, and Aug. 30th, 1862, 
at 2d Manassas. 

Mayer, Wm., discharged July 17th, 1862, disability. 

McNamara, John R., detailed 1863 to work for Government. 

Norfleet, Nathaniel, discharged for disability. 

Norwood, John W., surrendered at Appomattox. 

Nunnaly, E. J., wounded August 30th, 1862, killed July 2d, 1863, Gettys- 
burg. 

Owens, Wm. T.. captured Sept. 14th, 1862, exchanged and detailed in Gen. 
Anderson's Pioneer Corps. 

Peed, W. A., captured Sept. 14th, 1862, detailed on ordnance dutv March 
3d, 1863. 

Randolph, N. B., captured Sept. 14th, 1862, exchanged and died in hospital 
1863, in Fredericksburg. 

Randolph, R. G., captured Sept. 14th, 1862, exchanged and surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Rogers, John M., wounded July 2d, 1863, at Gettysburg. 

Robinson, John R., promoted Sergeant, killed Aug. 30th,. 1862, Manassas. 

Rose, J. H., detailed as Teamster. 

Shepherd, John S., discharged for disability. 

Simons, Geo. W. 

Stone, Wm., wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, Manassas, died Sept. 16th. 

Scribner, Jas. D., killed May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H. 

Shipp, Josiah P., transferred to Company G, 1862, wounded May 6th, 1864. 



NORFOLK JUNIORS, CO. H, TWELFTH YA. REGT. 293 

Simeoe, Augustus, discharged Aug. 30th, 1862, over age. 

Taylor, Wtri. E., appoiuted Hospital Steward Nov. 6th, 1862. 

Tompkins, E., killed Aug. 30th, 1862, 2d Manassas. 

Vadeu, W. L., wounded accidentally, 1862. 

White, Caleb D., promoted Corporal, wounded May 6th, 1864, at the Wil- 
derness. 

Williams, Thos. T., died in hospital, 1862, Richmond. 

Walker, Wm. H., wounded and captured Aug. 19th, 1864, Davis' Farm. 

Ward, Mathias, captured Sept. 14th, 1862, wounded May 12th, 1864, cap- 
tured Oct. 27th, 1864. 

Wilkinson, Samuel I)., wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, Manasas. 

Wilkins, Henry II., wounded-May 12th, 1864, Spotsylvania C. H. 

Woodhouse, W. S., wounded Julv 30th, 1864, at Crater, and died August 
loth. 

Williamson, John T., captured Oct. 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill, 

White, Wm. J., captured Oct. 27th, 1864, Burgess' Mill. 

White, J. J. P., captured Sept. 14th, 1862, surrendered at Appomattox. 

White, Ed. J., killed July 30th, 1864, at Crater. 

Whitehurst, Leven. 

Killed and died— 30. 

The company surrendered one commissioned officer and eigh- 
teen enlisted men at Appomattox Court House. The following 
is the list : 

Captain Thos. F. Owens, Private R S. House, 

Sergeant S. F. Jordan, *Jas. Hough, 

Private *W. J. Branch, J. C. Johnson, 

Wm. M. Brownley, J. W. Lufsey, 

Wm. PI. Davis, * J. W. Manning, 

*A. A. Delbridge, J. W. Norwood^ 

*Jos. Delbridge, R. J. Randolph, 

*Robt. Delbridge, *T. W. Rawlins, 

A. J. Dobbs, J. J. P. White. 

Wm. Harris, 
* Joined the company after it left Norfolk. 



CHAPTER XL. 

THE ATLANTIC ARTILLERY, EIGHTEENTH VIRGINIA BATTALION, 
HEAVY ARTILLERY. 

This company was organized and uniformed by Captain J. 
Hardy Hendren, and mustered into service on the 9th of March, 
1862, in Norfolk, with the following officers : 

Captain, J. Hardy Hendren. 

First Lieutenant, Win. C. Marrow; 2d Lieutenant, W. Eoy 
Roberts; 3d Lieutenant, John H. Sale, Jr. 

First Sergeant, Beverly K. Taylor. 

Lieutenant Marrow was promoted to Quartermaster in the 
Army of Northern Virginia and Lieutenant Roberts was assigned 
as A. A. G. to the staff of General Pemberton, commanding the 
batteries around Richmond. First Sergeant Taylor was promoted 
to Lieutenant. 

When the company was mustered into service, it was ordered 
to the entrenched camp near Norfolk, and was armed with 
muskets. It remained there until the 7th of May, when it was 
ordered to Petersburg and attached to the 18th Virginia Battalion 
Heavy Artillery. After a stay of three or four days the company 
was sent to Richmond, and assisted in building earthworks and 
mounting heavy guns. It remained in the batteries around that 
city until the close of the war, with an occasional expedition to 
head off raiding parties of the enemy's cavalry. It was sent to 
Gordonsville with General Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry against Stone- 
man's raid ; was in the trenches in front of Richmond when Kil- 
patrick came there with his troopers on the 1st of March, 1864, 
and at the battle of Drury's Bluff, on the 16th of May, 1864, par- 
ticipated as light artillerists, having charge of a battery of five 
field pieces. In the fall of 1864, the company was sent down to 
Chaffins' Farm, and remained there, facing the enemy in Fort 
Harrison until the evacuation of Richmond by the Confederates, 
in April, 1865, when it fell back with the troops under General 
Ewell, and took part in the battle of Saylor's Creek. It was ex- 
tremely fortunate, and, though always ready for service, escaped 
the battles and dangers to Mdrich most of the other troops were 
exposed. It lost only one man killed in battle, and four died in 
hospital from sickness. The following were the casualties in the 
company : 

Charles Pinkham, killed at Saylor's Creek. 
W. A. Griffin, died in hospital, Richmond. 
Armistead Haughton, died in hospital, Richmond. 
Nathaniel Wilkins, died in hospital, Richmond. 
James Young, died in hospital, Richmond. 
David Mathias, wounded at Saylor's Creek. 
J. W. Buchanan, wounded at Saylor's Creek. 

294 



ATLANTIC ARTILLERY, EIGHTEENTH VA. BATTALION. 295 



Below will be found a list of the men who left Norfolk with the 
company : 

Captain J. Hardy Hendren. 

First Lieutenant ¥m. C. Marrow. 

Second Lieutenant W. Roy Roberts. 

Third Lieutenant John H. Sale, Jr. 

First Sergeant Beverly K. Taylor. 

Second Sergeant Judson Hendren. 

Third Sergeant Henry Thompson. 

Fourth Sergeant David Mathias. 

Fifth Sergeant Armistead Flaughton. 

Sixth Sergeant Thos. C. Joynes. 

First Corporal Samuel Gordon. 
• Second Corporal John M. Wells. 

Third Corporal Thos. R. White. 

Fourth Corporal Wm. Leary. 



Ashton, Wm. 
Butt, Niemeyer. 
Buford, Jabez. 
Buchanan, J. W. 
Callis, Wm. 
Dozier, Tully F. 
Evans, Arthur. 
Flannigan, Fletcher. 
Griggs, Geo. D. 
Griffin, W. A. 
Harris, Abraham M. 



PRIVATES. 

Higgins, John LI. 
Kisk, Richard. 
Krouse, John II. 
Lambert, Henry. 
LeDoyne, John II. 
Mathias, Henry B. 
Patterson, John H. 
Pinkham, Chas. 
Richardson, Wm. 
Scott, Robert. 
Sharpley, John J. 



Thompson, David S. 
Totten, Samuel. 
Taylor, John G. 
Timberlake, David. 
Thayer, Stephen B. 
Yellines, John A. 
Winslow, Joseph. 
Whitehurst, Nathan. 
Williams, James M. 
Wilkins, Nathaniel. 
Young, James. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

THE UNITED ARTILLERY, COMPANY A, NINETEENTH VIRGINIA BATTAL- 
ION, HEAVY ARTILLERY. 

This company was composed of most excellent righting material 
and was commanded by as cool and determined a soldier as there 
was in General Lee's Army, and, though always ready to respond 
to the call of duty, and though the men were exposed to danger 
and death on numerous occasions, an over-ruling Providence 
seemed to watch over them, and their casualties were insignificant. 
One man was killed in battle, one killed by accident, and one died 
in hospital from sickness. Five were wounded. 

The company was organized in Norfolk several days before the 
burning of the Navy Yard by the Federal forces in April, 1861, 
but at the beginning of hostilities was not uniformed or armed. 
It was called into service on the 19th of April, to take part in the 
capture of the powder in Fort Norfolk. A detail was made to 
capture the gunner, Mr. Oliver, to prevent him from signaling to 
the Navy Yard, what was being done. The detail sent to capture 
Mr. Oliver was under command of Lieutenant W. Carter Wil- 
liams, and the rest of the company landed at the wharf at the fort, 
in barges The officers of the company at that time were: 

Captain, Thomas Kevill. 

First Lieutenant, James E. Barry ; 2d Lieutenant, Wm. Carter 
Williams ; 3d Lieutenant, Thaddens E. Eisenbiess. 

The company took its name from the old United Fire Com- 
pany, of which most of its men were members. A long habit of 
contending with the flames had inured them to dangers. Upon 
being mustered into service the Company was stationed at Fort 
Norfolk and was furnished with muskets, and also was placed in 
charge of four light guns and drilled both as infantry and artil- 
lery. They also had charge of a battery of heavy guns, so that, 
during the year the company was at Fort Norfolk, the men be- 
came experts in all branches of the service except the cavalry. 

In July, 1861, Lieutenant Williams was elected Captain of a 
company from Princess Anne county, which was attached to the 
6th Regiment as Company B. Lieutenant Eisenbiess was pro- 
moted to 2d Lieutenant and Edward Lakin was elected 3d Lieu- 
tenant. Upon the organization of the 41st Virginia Regiment of 
infantry the United Artillery company was attached to it as Com- 
pany E. 

When the iron-clad Virginia (Merrimac) was. ready for service 
it was found that she lacked thirty-one men of having a full crew, 
and Captain Kevill was applied to for volunteers to make up the 

296 



UNITED ART., CO. A, NINETEENTH VA. BATTALION. 297 

deficiency, but the men were not willing to serve under the com- 
mand of the naval officers and declined to volunteer unless one of 
their own officers was on board the ship to take charge of them. 
This was reported to the Secretary of War and by him commu- 
nicated to the Secretary of the Navy, and the result was that the 
services of the company were accepted, with Captain Kevill as 
their commander. The Captain then called for thirty-one volun- 
teers, and the whole company stepped to the front. Selecting 
thirty -one men whom he thought best qualified,by physical strength, 
to do the heavy work which was required of them, he reported to 
the Commandant of the Navy Yard on the 7th of March, 1862-, 
and was assigned, with sixteen men, to one of the 9-inch broad- 
side guns. During the engagement the fifteen other men were 
distributed among guns which were short in their crews. During 
the second day's engagement, the 9th of March, a piece of metal 
was knocked olf the muzzle of the gun, but the men continued to 
load and lire it until the close of the battle. The next time the 
ship went down to Hampton Roads Captain Kevill was again 
with his men, but on the third trip, May 8th, Lieutenant Lakin 
had command of the detachment. Two men belonging to the 
company, A. J. Dalton and John Capps, were wounded by mus- 
ket balls coming through the port holes in the first day's battle, 
March 8th. 

On the 10th of May, 1862, before sunrise, the company was 
marched from Fort Norfolk to the entrenched campand placed 
in charge of a battery of heavy guns, and remainea there until 
early in the afternoon, when it was marched to the Norfolk and 
Petersburg railroad depot in Norfolk and took the cars for Pe- 
tersburg. It remained eight or ten days on Dunn's Hill, near the 
city, when it was sent to Richmond and ordered to report to Col- 
onel Rhett, commanding defences of the city. While the United 
Artillery were in Petersburg and General Lee was making ar- 
rangements to defend Drury's Bluff from the anticipated attack 
of the Federal iron-clads, he wrote to General Huger, command- 
ing the Department of Petersburg, that the battery was a very 
important one, that it should be well defended, and recommended 
that the United Artillery company be sent there. He told Gen- 
eral Huger that he understood this was one of the best companies 
in the service. 

Upon reporting to Colonel Rhett the company was assigned to 
two two-gun batteries or redouts, one on each side of the Virginia 
Central railroad, and in two days built platforms for the guns, 
mounted them and built a magazine. The guns were mounted 
on heavy army carriages. The company remained in this battery 
until after the battles around Richmond, when it was moved to 
battery No. 8 and attached to a battalion commanded by Major 
Atkinson. Shortly afterwards it was detached from Major At- 

20 



298 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

kinson's command, ordered to Drury's Bluff, and still attached to 
the 19th Battalion of heavy artillery, reported to Captain S. S. 
Lee. Subsequently Major Frank Smith, of Norfolk, became 
commander of the battalion and was killed on the retreat from 
Richmond to Appomattox. His battalion was on both sides of a 
road, and each mistaking the other for the enemy, began firing, 
and in endeavoring to stop it Major Smith was killed. The com- 
pany remained in the battery at Drury's Bluff until the 16th of 
May, 1864, when as an infantry company it took part in the bat- 
tle fought there that day. In June, 1864, when Butler's troops 
were driven back to the lines of Bermuda Hundreds by Pickett's 
Division the United Artillery Company was sent to the Howlett 
House and took charge of a fortification known as Battery Dantz- 
ler, after Colonel Dantzler, 'of the 22d South Carolina Regiment, 
and when Butler began digging the Dutch Gap Canal the com- 
pany was moved to Battery Wood, in front of Dutch Gap, where 
it was constantly engaged shelling the enemy's working parties. 
Here it took its place regularly with the other troops on the 
lines, taking its turn at picket duty as an infantry com- 
pany, but still manning the heavy guns. 

During the interval between the battle of Seven Pines and the 
Seven Days' battles a detachment of the company, under com- 
mand of Lieutenant Barry, operated a heavy gun which was put 
upon a railroad flat car, protected with iron, on the York River 
railroad, bu,t it did not prove very effective, on account of the dif- 
ficulty in moving it along the track towards and from the enemy. 
While at Drury's Bluff the men frequently volunteered to take 
part in naval expeditions which were gotten up by Captain John 
Taylor Wood and other officers to cut out detached vessels of the 
enemy. 

Lieutenant Barry's health broke down in the winter of 1864-5, 
and he became unable to do duty. Therefore, by the advice of 
the post surgeon, which was concurred in by Captain Kevill, he 
tendered his resignation and was discharged from the company. 
In September, 1864, Lieutenant Lakin received an appointment 
in the Navy, and Daniel Knowles was elected Lieutenant. Lieu- 
tenant Eisenbiess was killed in 1863 by an accident upon the 
Richmond and Petersburg railroad. Upon the evacuation of 
Richmond the United Artillery formed part of the forces under 
General Ewell, and under the command of Captain Kevill par- 
ticipated in the battle of Saylor's Creek, where it had one man 
killed and three wounded. Thus it happened, very singularly, 
that the company met with casualties only in its first and last en- 
gagements with the enemy. The following is a list of its losses : 

Lieutenant T. E. Eisenbiess, killed accidentally, 1863. 

John Belote, died in hospital at Drury's Bluff. 

Emanuel Lacoste, killed at Saylor's CreVk, April 5th, 1865, 



UNITED ART., CO. A, NINETEENTH VA. BATTALION. 



299 



John T. Bullock, wounded at Sa.vlor'8 Creek. 
Fred. S. Clarke, wounded at Saylor's Creek. 
John Capps, wounded on the Virginia, March 8th, 1862. 
A. J. Dalton, wounded on the Virginia, March 8th, 1802. 
Hezekiah Wells, wounded at Saylor's Creek. 
A. C. Griswold, captured August 6th, 1864, at Howlett's. 
George Smith, captured August 6th, 1864, at Howlett's. 
Eugene Solomon, captured August 6th, 1864, at Howlett's. 
A. J. Dalton recovered from his wound received on the Virginia (Merrimac) 
and was transferred to a cavalry company in Morgan's Brigade, was 
wounded and captured at Dublin in 1864, in the fight with Crook's and 
Averill's cavalry. 

Below will be found the roll of the company : 

Captain Thos. Kevill. 

First Lieutenant James E. Barry. 

Second Lieutenant Thaddeus E. Eisenbiess. 

Second Lieutenant W. Carter Williams. 

Second Lieutenant Edward Lakin. 

Second Lieutenant Daniel Knowles. 

First Sergeant Adam Baum. 

Second Sergeant Fayette F. Porter. 

Third Sergeant W. F. Coston. 

Fourth Sergeant Richard Nelson. 

Fifth Sergeant W. H. Cosby. 

Sixth Sergeant W. H. Carr. 
, Ordnance Sergeant John T. Bullock. 

First Corporal Alphonse M. Bullock. 

Second Corporal John Carstaphan. 

Third Corporal John Gillis. 

Fourth Corporal Geo. J. Allen. 

Musicians Eugene Solomon and Emanuel Lacoste. 



Applewhite, A. 
Albright, Chas. W. 
Bell, Miles K. 
Burns, W. A. 
Belote, John. 
Betts, W. M. 
Bisby, Henry T. 
Bowers, Geo. 
Baker, fm, 
Bisby, W. J. 
Bunting, John. 
Black, John T. 
Capps, John. 
Croker, Riifus K. 
Clarke, Alex. 
Clarke, Fred. S. 
Cameron, Chas. 



PRIVATES. 

Cook, Edward. 
Colonna, W. B. 
Chestnut, Nicholas. 
Cain, Richard C. 
Cornell, J. R. 
Duke, W. F. 
Duncan, Jas. 
Dalton, A. J. 
Diggs, Wm. J. 
Deane, John. 
Dudley, Wm. F. 
Fisher, Chas. 
Fowler, John. 
Flynn, John. 
Griswold, A. C. 
Glenn an, Wm. 
Georgan, Michael. 



Hitchings, Ed. T. 
Hundley, Jas. 
Hoggs, Geo. W. 
Hogan, Eugene. 
Jones, John W. 
Kevill, John P. 
Knight, Geo. 
Land, Geo. W. 
Lovely, Geo. 
Lawrence, David. 
Murray, John T. 
McCarty, Neal. 
Manning, A. J. 
Mars, John. 
Murray, Geo. 
Maloye, Jack. 
Morris, John. 



300 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



Miller, Rodman. 
Parker, Geo. 
Pitt, W. P. 
Robinson, F. J. 
Richardson B. A 
Rhea, Geo.'W. 



Stokes, Jas. 
Snider, John. 
Sharp, Chas. 
Scott, Wyatt W. 
Thompson, Geo. 
Wells, Hezekiah. 



Rollins, Vm, 

Reid, Chas. 

Scnltatns, Geo. 

Solon, Thos. 

Smith, Geo. 

Smith, John D. 

The official muster roll shows the following members of the 
United Artillery Company who were surrendered and paroled at 
Appomattox Court House : 
Captain Thos. Kevill. 
Second Lieutenant Adam Baum. 
First Sergeant John T. Bullock. 
Sergeant Alphonso Bullock. 
Sergeant Win. F. Coston. 
Sergeant John Gillis. 
Corporal George J. Allen. 
Corporal M. Georgan. 



Wm, Colonna. 
Win, Dudley. 
J. H. Deane. 
Jas. Duncan. 
John Fowler. 
Chas. Fisher. 
John Flynn. 
Geo. Land. 



PRIVATES. 

Wm. Morgan. 
Redman Miller. 
John Morris. 
John P. Kevill. 
Wm. P. Pitt. 
Geo. T. Parker. 
F. J. Robinson. 
Chas. Reid. 



Geo. Scultatus. 
Jas. Stokes. 
John Stare. 
Geo Thompson. 
John Thomas. 
R. O. Yaughan. 
Jas. B. Yarborouffh. 



At the surrender the company was classed as unattached. 



CHAPTER XLIL 

young's harbok guard, thirteenth va. artillery battalion. 

This company was raised in the latter part of April, 1861, by Cap- 
tain John J. Young, as a heavy artillery company, and was re- 
cruited principally in Norfolk, a few of the men being from Nor- 
folk county and Portsmouth. Captain Young uniformed the 
company at his own expense, and also contributed, out of his pri- 
vate funds,towards the erection of an earthwork at Boush's Bluff, 
to which point the company was ordered immediately upon its 
organization, for the purpose of throwing up fortifications. The 
work was armed with 32-pounder ship guns from the navy yard, 
and Captain Young fired the first shot at the enemy which was 
fired in this vicinity. On the 18th of May, 1861, the steam tug 
Kahukee landed a force of workmen at Seawell's Point for the 
purpose of building fortifications there, and was chased back to 
Norfolk by the steamer Monticello, which fired a shot at her. As 
soon as the Monticello came within range of Captain Young's 
guns he sent a thirty-two pound shot at her, which had the effect 
of stopping her course, and she turned about and steamed towards 
Hampton Roads. 

Complaint having been made to General linger that Union 
sympathizers in the vicinity of Norfolk were in the habit of com- 
municating with the enemy at Fortress Monroe, Captain Young's 
Company, being composed of seafaring men, was changed into a 
company of Harbor Guards, whose duty it was to patrol the lower 
harbor at night, and for that purpose was furnished with four 
large launches, each armed with a boat howitzer, and also a num- 
ber of small boats. The men were armed with muskets also. The 
officers of the company were : 

Captain, John J. Young. 

First Lieutenant, John E. Winder ; 2d Lieutenant, Henry Rob- 
erts ; 3d Lieutenant, John Lewis. 

The company entered upon their new duties in July, 1861, and 
their work was performed very satisfactorily, and what had pre- 
viously been a source of information to the enemy was very effec- 
tually stopped. An occasional " intelligent contraband " succeeded 
in making his escape to the Federal lines, but those escapades be- 
came very rare and very risky. 

The company remained at Boush's Bluff until the 10th of May, 
1862, when Norfolk was evacuated by the Confederate forces. 
Early that morning, the tug J B. White, which was under orders 
of Captain Young, and employed in his department, landed some 
stores at Boush's Bluff for the company, and instead of returning 

301 



302 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

to Norfolk, steamed past the Seawell's Point batteries and kept 
on to Fortress Monroe. The captain and owner of the tug was a 
Northern man, and the Confederate authorities very unwisely re- 
tained him in charge of it. The information which he conveyed 
to the enemy hastened the movements of the Confederates. That 
afternoon at 2 o'clock, the men in Captain Young's Company em- 
barked in their barges and rowed past Craney Island to Pig Point 
and up the Nansemond river to Suffolk, where they destroyed 
their boats, placed their howitzers on the cars and carried them to 
Richmond. The Virginia (Merrimac) was lying near Craney Is- 
land,- and her presence there deterred the Federal vessels from 
making any effort to interfere with the boats while they were 
being rowed up Hampton Roads tow r ards Pig Point. 

Upon arriving at Richmond the company was sent to Chaffin's 
Bluff, on James river, and attached to the 13th Virginia Artillery 
Battalion, under Major W. H. Gibbs, and remained there until 
the summer of 1863, when it was sent to Harper's Ferry, and met 
the army returning from Pennsylvania. It returned to Richmond 
as guards for the prisoners captured in Pennsylvania, and was 
again stationed in the fortifications near Fort Harrison, on Chaf- 
fin's farm. When Butler advanced from Bermuda Hundreds in 
186-1, the company was moved over to the south side of James 
river with its four howitzers, and took part in the battle of the 
16th of May. It then returned to Chaffin's farm, and was there 
on the 29th of September, 1864, when the enemy captured Fort 
Harrison, which was garrisoned by only one company. This com- 
pany, with a small handful of troops, made a very gallant stand 
against Butler's Corps, and held the rest of the lines until rein- 
forcements arrived. 

When the company was in the fortifications around Richmond, 
its name underwent a change, and it became known as Young's 
Howitzers. It did service also at Dutch Gap for a short while, 
and upon the evacuation of Richmond, was attached to the troops 
under General Custis Lee, and took part in the battle of Saylor's 
Creek, just before the surrender at Appomattox. 

Captain Young's health failed in 1863, and he was granted a 
sick leave. Lieutenant Roberts resigned August 25th, 1863, and 
was appointed a Lieutenant in the Navy, and Lieutenant Lewis 
resigned June 29th, 1864. Sergeant John C.Murray w r as elected 
Lieutenant July 4th, 1864, and in 1865, Walter Young was pro- 
moted to First Sergeant. 

The following were the casualties of the company. Those re- 
ported prior to February 28th, 1865, are from the official reports 
of the commanding officer, those since that date have been sup- 
plied from the recollections of the survivors, but may be relied 
upon as correct : 



YOUNG'S HARBOR GUARD, THIRTEENTH VA. ART. BAT. 303 



Corporal Ezekiel Taylor, died in hospital Sept. 12th, 18G2, Richmond. 
Corporal Andrew Edmonds, died in hospital April 1st, 1864, Richmond. 
Private John Crockett, accidentally shot himself and died Oct. 6th, 1862. 
Private Win. E. Etheredge, died in hospital Nov. 25th, 1862, Richmond. 
Private James Gilbert, died in hospital April 5th, 1864, Richmond. 
Sergeant John F. Richardson, supposed killed at Savior's Creek, April, 1865. 
Private Ed. E. Holt, died in hospital March 17th, 1863, Richmond. 
Serjeant Walter Young, wounded at Say lor' s Creek. 
Corporal John Sadler, wounded Saylors Creek. 
Private Thos. Aydlott, wounded Sept. 29th, 1864. 
Private John Griffin, wounded Sept. 29th, 1864. 
Private Jas. Hamilton, wounded Savior's Creek. 
Private John Reid, wounded Sa,ylor's Creek. 
Private Beuj. Ward, wounded Savior's Creek. 
Killed and died — 7. 

The following is the roll of the company for May 31st, 1802 : 
Captain, John J. Young. 
First Lieutenant, John E. Winder. 
Second Lieutenant, Henry Roberts. 
Third Lieutenant, John Lewis. 
First Sergeant, W. II. Pagaud. 
Second Sergeant, John F. Richardson. 
Third Sergeant, John C. Murray. 
Fourth Sergeant, Win. Trower. 

Corporals, Ezekiel Taylor, Andrew Edmonds, Geo. Sadler, 
Augustus Godfrey. 

PRIVATES. 

Crockett, Jno. 
Davis, Jno. 
Everett, Lemuel. 
Etheredge, Win, F. 
Gilbert, Jas. 
Griffin, Jno. 
Hamilton, Jas. 
Hansel, Warren. 
Holt, Ed. E. 
Hyller, Thos. 

Detachments from the company took part in several naval boat 
expeditions. Private Win. A. Allen was transferred to a light 
artillery company and lost a leg in battle. 

Only six men in the Harbor Guard were left at Appomattox. 
Those were : 

T. L. Blanton, W. W. Mathews, 

J. Dorsett, J. T. Pollard, 

T. R. Gary, W. White. 

At that date the company was not attached to any regiment or 
battalion. All of the names above except Wm. White were as- 
signed to the company after it left Norfolk. 



Abdell, Jos. 
Allen, Win. A. 
Aydlott, Thos. 
Baker, Geo. W. 
Benson, Geo. 
Co noway, Ed. J. 
Colonna, Geo. M. 
Colonna, Wm. 
Corbett, Thos. IT. 
Curtis, Edward. 



Kirsh, John II. 
Martin, Jno. 
Morrison, Jos. 
Murphy, Thos. 
Robbins, Asher. 
Reid, Jno. 
Ward, Ben j. 
White, Wm. 
Wynn, Wm. 
Younp', Walter. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

THE SIGNAL CORPS. 

This company was organized by Major James F. Milligan in 
Norfolk in March, 1862. It was composed originally of men de- 
tailed for the service from other commands, but not being able to 
supply the requisite number from that source, and the members 
being liable at any moment to be ordered back to the companies 
in which they were enlisted, it was determined to organize the 
Signal Corps as an independent command, to enlist men regu- 
larly in it, and to transfer to it permanently those who had been 
detailed to it. As the service required men of considerable intel- 
ligence, its members were selected with care. There were men in 
the organization from every State from which troops were on duty 
around Norfolk. The officers of the command were : 

Major James F. Milligan, of Norfolk, Chief Signal Officer. 

Captain — Nathaniel W. Small, of Norfolk. 

First Lieutenant — Simon C. Wells, of Salem. 

Second Lieutenant — Douglass C. Cannon, of Norfolk. 

Third Lieutenant — Joseph B. "Woodley, of Portsmouth. 

First Sergeant — Francis R. Benson, of Portsmouth. 

Second Sergeant — C. W. Young, of Portsmouth. 

Third Sergeant — Richard A. Mapp, of Norfolk. 

Fourth Sergeant— A. G. Milhado, of Norfolk. 

Fifth Sergeant — Andrew J. Flanner, of New Orleans. 

First Corporal — John Emmerson, of Portsmouth. 

Second Corporal — John C. Saunders, Jr., of Norfolk. 

Third Corporal — Edward Rooney, of New Orleans. 

Fourth Corporal — F. M. Hyman, of Norfolk. 

At the evacuation of Norfolk one hundred and twenty-seven 
men were on the muster roll, and of these forty-one were from 
Portsmouth. Their names will be found in the lists of the va- 
rious companies which entered the Confederate service from that 
city, and in chapter XXV. After leaving Norfolk the command 
was moved to Petersburg and there perfected in the code of sig- 
nals, after which two chains of posts were established, with their 
bases at Bermuda Hundreds and City Point. One extended up 
the Appomattox river to Petersburg, and the other up the James 
river to Drury's Bluff, where it connected with a telegraph sys- 
tem to Richmond. Later a chain of posts was established down 
James river to the vicinity of Smithfield, where a considerable 
force of the company was located under command of Lieutenant 
Joseph R. Woodley. This detachment was mounted, and was 
also provided with a couple of swift row boats, with which they 

304 



THE SIGNAL CORPS. 



305 



frequently crossed over to the north side of James river at night, 
inside the lines of the enemy, and gathered information of the 
movements of troops and vessels. In fact, it was to this source 
mainly that the Confederate Government relied for its informa- 
tion concerning movements of the Federal fleet in James river 
and Hampton Roads, and of troops near Fortress Monroe. Sev- 
eral of the members of the corps were afterwards placed on 
blockade runners, which frequented Wilmington and Charleston 
for the purpose of signaling the forts, to prevent the vessels from 
being fired on by mistake. 

The following men enlisted in the corps in Norfolk, and, 
though at this late day it is not practicable to separate them, it is 
believed that all, or nearly all, of them were residents of that 
city. All of them lived through the war : 

Captain, K W. Small. 

Second Lieutenant, D. C. Cannon, transferred from Company 
G, 6th Virginia Regiment. 

Second Sergeant, A. G. M ilhado, transferred trom Company 
G, 6th Virginia Regiment. 

Second Corporal, John C. Saunders, Jr. 

Fourth Corporal F. M. Hyinan, tranferred from Company G, 
Gth Virginia Regiment. 

PRIVATES. 

Forbes, Robert A. 

Greenwood, Fred. 

Hastings, Wm. T. 

James, Wm. A. 

James, Rowland F. 

Lathrop, Wm. B. 

Lyell, Geo. E. 
Windsor, C. II. 

Of these the following were at the surrender at Appomattox: 
Lieutenant D. C. Cannon, Private Geo. H. Freer. 

Sergeant F. M. Hyman. Private Fred. Greenwood. 



Adams, Wm. D. 
Averett, Thos. II. 
Barnes, V. H. 
Boush, Isaac F. 
Beach, Wm. F. 
Berwick, Wm. 
Freer, Geo. II. 



Marable, AVm. II. 
Norsworthy, Jos. C. 
Ricks, James R. 
Seabury, Wm. II. 
Waiklren, Thos. 
White, Alpheus A. 
Wiles, Samuel. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

FIELD AND STAFF, &C, NORFOLK. 

Norfolk was represented in the Confederate Army by the fol- 
lowing field and staff officers : 

Brigadier General Richard L. Page, Page's Alabama. Brigade. 

Colonel Thos. J. Corprew, (5th Virginia Infantry. 

Colonel V. D. Groner, 61st Virginia Infantry. 

Colonel Wm. Lamb, 36th North Carolina Infantry. 

Colonel Edward E. Portlock, Jr., 21st Arkansas Infantry. 

Colonel A. W. Starke, commanding artillery. 

Colonel Francis Mallory, 55th Virginia Infantry, killed at Chancellorsville. 

Lieutenant Colonel John S. Saunders, Battalion of Artillery. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Walter H. Taylor, Adjutant General on staff of General 

Robert E. Lee. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry W Williamson, 6th Virginia Infantry. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Sinclair Cunningham, 10th Alabama Infantry. 
Major Edmond Bradford, Inspector General and Mustering Officer Huger's 

Division. 
Major James F. Milligan, commanding Independent Signal Corps and 

Scouts. 
Major FranciR Smith, Heavy Artillery Battalion, killed April, 1865, on the 

retreat from Richmond. 
Major Wm. E. Taylor, Norfolk Infantry Battalion and General Gvvynn's 

staff. 
Major Robt. B. Taylor, 6th Virginia Infantry. 

Major John Saunders Taylor, Provisional Army C. S., killed atSharpsburg. 
Major Richard C. Taylor, Artillery Battalion. 

Major Robertson Taylor, Adjutant General on General Mahone's staff. 
Major Chas. B. Duffield, Adjutant General on General Wise's staff. 
Captain W. W. Chamberlaine, staff of General Walker, Chief of Ordnance 3d 

Corps A. N. Va. 
Captain John I). Myrick, A. A. G. Boring's staff. 
Adjutant W. A. S. Taylor, 61st Virginia Infantry. 
Adjutant Alexander Tunstall, 6th Virginia Infantry. 
Adjutant W. T. Walke, 39th Virginia Cavalry Battalion. 
Captain Robert G. Portlock, A. A. General Fagan's Cavalry Brigade. 
Captain Richard Walke, Ordnance Officer, General Mahone's staff. 
Lieutenant Isaac Walke, Ordnance Officer, Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry Division, 

killed at Woodstock August, 1864. 

Brigadier General Richard L. Page, was born in Norfolk and 
entered the United States Navy as a Midshipman on the 1st of 
March, 1824, and passed through the intervening grades to that 
of commander, which position he occupied at the beginning of 
the war, having been promoted on the 14th of September, 1855. 
His last duties in the United States Navy were as commander of 
the sloop of war Germantown, on the East India Station. Upon 
the secession of Virginia he resigned his commission in the United 
States Navy and was appointed in the Virginia Navy, and subse- 
quently transferred to the Confederate Navy. He was on duty 
at the Gosport Navy Yard the first year of the war, and after the 

306 



FIELD AND STAFF, NORFOLK. 307 

evacuation of Norfolk, was assigned to tlie command of the naval 
depot at Charlotte, N. C. From Charlotte he was transferred to 
Mobile, and on the 7th of March, 1864, was appointed Brigadier 
General in the Confederate army, and assigned to the command 
of Fort Morgan, at the outer defences of Mobile Bay. His bri- 
gade was composed of the 21st Alabama Infantry, 1st Battalion 
Alabama Heavy Artillery, 1st Battalion Tennessee Heavy Artil- 
lery, live companies of the 7th Alabama Cavalry and a portion of 
the 1st Regiment Alabama regulars. He was in command of 
Fort Morgan on the 5th of August, 1804, when the Federal fleet, 
under Admiral Farragut, ran by it, and succeeded in sinking one 
monitor, the Tecumseh, with a torpedo, and a wooden gun boat, 
the Phillippi, with his batteries. On the 9th of August the Fed- 
erals landed a force of infantry and began a regular investment of 
Fort Morgan, and after a very gallant defence, in which his guns 
were all dismounted and his ability to resist any longer had ceased, 
he surrendered the fort on the 23d. His garrison amounted to 
about four hundred men, and they very bravely seconded his ef- 
forts to hold the fort, which was really untenable after the fleet 
had succeeded in passing it. 

Colonel Thos. J. Corprew was in the volunteer service of the 
State before the war as captain of one of the Norfolk companies, 
and at the beginning of the war was appointed by Governor 
Letcher, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 6th Virginia Regiment. Lpon 
the promotion of Colonel Win. Mahone to the command of the 
brigade, he became Colonel of the regiment. He was not rev- 
elected at the reorganization of the regiment in May, 1862. 

Colonel V. D. Groner, from early youth, evinced a fondness 
for a military life, and was an officer in one of the volunteer com- 
panies of Norfolk before the war. At the beginning of hostilities 
he received an appointment in the Adjutant General's office in 
the Confederate States War Department, but desiring to take a 
more active part in the struggle which was going on, accepted the 
position of Lieutenant-Colonel of the 4th North Carolina Cavalry 
in the summer of 1862, and was actively engaged with the enemy 
in the Blackwater River section. His command drove back several 
gunboat expeditions, and had a successful engagement with Spiers' 
Cavalry, driving them back and capturing a number of prisoners. 
In October, 1862, he was elected Colonel of the 61st Virginia 
Regiment, by the officers of the regiment. He was severely 
wounded at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 12th, 
1864, and did not rejoin the regiment until August, and, while 
still on crutches, commanded it at the battle of Davis' Farm, 
August 19th. His wound, however, compelled him to again retire 
and he was not able to rejoin his command until just before the 
retreat from Petersburg. He commanded the regiment at the 
battles of Amelia Court House and Cumberland Church and sur- 



308 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

rendered at Appomattox. He was in command of the regiment 
in the following battles also : Fredericksburg, Cliancellorsville, 
(May 1st, 2d and 3d) Salem Church, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, 
Wilderness, Spotsylvania C. H., Davis' Farm, and numerous other 
smaller engagements. 

Colonel Wm. Lamb was quite prominent in politics, though 
young in years, before the breaking out of the war, and entered 
into that struggle at its beginning, as Captain of the Woodis Rifle- 
men. He took part in the engagements at Seawell's Point, May 
19th and 21st, 1861, between the shore battery and the United 
States steamer Monticello, and his conduct was very highly com- 
plimented by Captain Colquit, commanding the post. Having re- 
ceived authority from the Secretary of War to raise an indepen- 
dent battalion, of which the Woodis Riflemen was to be one of 
the companies, he went to work in Princess Anne and Norfolk 
counties and raised two companies, but the Secretary assigned the 
Woodis Riflemen to the 6th" Regiment as Company C, and his 
Princess Anne Company to the same regiment as Company B. 
Not relishing this treatment, Captain Lamb resigned, and was ap- 
pointed by the Governor of North Carolina to the position of 
Colonel of State troops, and was assigned to duty on the staff of 
General Joseph R. Anderson, commanding in that State. When 
the 32d North Carolina Regiment was organized Colonel Lamb 
was elected its colonel, with headquarters at Fort Fisher, at the 
entrance to Wilmington harbor. His command extended for 
twenty miles north from Fort Fisher, and was really that of a 
Brigadier General. When Fort Fisher was captured, January 
15th, 1865, Colonel Lamb was severely wounded and fell into the 
hands of the enemy. He was appointed a Colonel in the C. S. 
Provisional Army, and his promotion to Brigadier General had 
been approved by General Lee before the end came, while Colo- 
nel Lamb was in prison. 

Colonel Alexander W. Starke was an officer in the Marine 
Corps, U. S. Navy, at the beginning of the late war, and was at- 
tached to the sloop of war St. Marys, on the East India Station. 
The ship returned to the United States in March, 1862, landing 
at San Francisco, whereupon he resigned his commission, came 
through the lines without being captured, received an appoint- 
ment as Captain in the Confederate army and was assigned to 
ordnance duty. He was subsequently promoted to Major, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel and Colonel of volunteers, and assigned to the 
command of a battalion of artillery. His command varied from 
five to eleven companies, and did general service. He was 
slightly wounded at Fort Harrison on the 29th of September, 

1864. At the time of the evacuation of Richmond, April 1st, 

1865, his command was stationed on the Nine Mile Road near 
Seven Pines. He fell back with General Ewell's Division, was 
in the battle of Saylor's Creek, fell back towards Appomattox, 



FIELD AND STAFF, NORFOLK. 309 

and surrendered with the remnant of the army on the 9th of 
April. 

Colonel Francis Mallory was a Captain in the United States 
army at the breaking out of the war, and received a similar ap- 
pointment in the Confederate regular army. Upon the organiza- 
tion of the 55th Virginia Regiment he was assigned to it as Colo- 
nel. The regiment was attached to Heth's Brigade of A. P. 
Hill's Division. Colonel Mallory served gallantly with his regi- 
ment in every engagement in which it participated until he met 
his death, on the 2d of May, 1863, at Chancellorsville. His regi- 
ment was a part of Jackson's corps, with which he made his cele- 
brated movement to turn Hooker's right, and Colonel Mallory fell 
in the moment of victory, while leading his regiment in the 
charge. 

Colonel Edward E. Portlock, Jr., was born in Norfolk, re- 
ceived a military education at the Norfolk Military Academy, and 
at the breaking out of the war received an appointment in the 
War Department in Richmond, was appointed Lieutenant in the 
regular army, and at the request of General Roane was assigned 
to his staff in the trans-Mississippi Department, was elected Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel and then Colonel of the 24th Arkansas Regiment, 
was captured at the fall of Arkansas Post, but exchanged and 
recommended for promotion to Brigadier General. His com- 
mission as such had been made out when Richmond fell, but did 
not reach him. He was in a number of engagements, frequently 
commanding his brigade, but escaped without a wound. 

Lieutenant- Colonel John S. Saunders was a Lieutenant in 
the United States army at the beginning of the war, resigned and 
enlisted in the Confederate army, and was promoted to. Major of 
Artillery. He was appointed to command a battalion composed of 
Grimes' Battery of Portsmouth, Huger's Battery of Norfolk, and 
Moorman's Battery of Lynchburg. The battalion was disbanded 
shortly after the battle of Sharpsburg. Captain Grimes was 
killed, his men were divided between the two other companies, 
and Moorman's Battery was changed to horse artillery and trans- 
ferred to Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry Division. Major Saunders was 
assigned to ordnance dut}' in Richmond and promoted to Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Walter H. Taylor was one of the best 
known officers in the army of Northern Virginia. At the begin- 
ning of the war he was a Lieutenant in " Company F," of Nor- 
folk, but before the company was regularly mustered into service 
received an appointment as Lieutenant in the Provisional Army 
of the Confederate States and was assigned to duty with General 
Robert E. Lee. He continued with General Lee as his Adjutant 
General until the close of the war, was prompt and efficient in the 
discharge of his duties, and enjoyed the confidence of the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, After the war Colonel Taylor published an ad- 



310 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

mirable work, entitled " Four Years with General Lee," in which 
he gave to the world for the first time, from official sources, the 
great difference in the numbers of the Northern and Southern ar- 
mies in the various battles in Virginia. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Henry W. Williamson was elected Cap- 
tain of Company F at the beginning of the war and was stationed 
with it on Craney Island until May, 1862. II ewas re-elected Cap- 
tain at the reorganization of the company in April, 1862, and the 
following month, when ihe election was "held for field officers of 
the 6th Virginia Regiment, to which his company was attached, 
Captain Williamson was elected Lieutenant-Colonel, and held that 
position until the close of the war. He was with the regiment in 
nearly all of the battles in which it was engaged, and at the battle 
of the Crater, fought on the 30th of July, 1864, lost an arm. 

Major James F. Milligan was a First Lieutenant in the United 
States Revenue Service before the war, resigned on the 17th of 
April, 1861, and received an appointment in the Virginia navy. 
He was assigned to the command of the steamer Empire, which 
was subsequently changed into a gunboat, given a new name and 
sent to the North Carolina Sounds. Subsequently Captain Milli- 
gan was transferred to the army, and in March, 1862, under or- 
orders from the Secretary of War, organized the " Independent 
Signal Corps and Scouts," and originated a code of signals. In 
1 863 the company was enlarged into a battalion of two companies 
and Captain Milligan became Major. His corps was very useful 
to the War Department in gathering information of the move- 
ments of the enemy and transmitting it rapidly to Richmond. 
They picketed James river from Drury's Bluff to Burwell's Bay 
until Grant crossed over to Petersburg, and made frequent incur- 
sions into the enemy's lines in the neighborhood of Newport News 
and Old Point in search of information. 

Lieutenant-Colonel A. S. Cunningham was a Lieutenant in 
the regular army, was appointed to a similar post in the Confed- 
erate army and assigned to ordnance duty. He was promoted to 
Lieutenant-Colonel of Volunteers, and during the Seven Days' 
battles around Richmond was assigned temporarily to the com- 
mand of the loth Alabama Regiment, receiving a severe wound 
while in the discharge of this duty. Upon recovering from his 
wounds he returned to his duties as an officer of ordnance, and 
later in the war commanded the 40th Virginia Regiment tempo- 
rarily. 

Major Francis Smith was Commander of the 19th Battalion 
Virginia Heavy Artillery, stationed at Drury's Bluff, and upon 
the retreat from Richmond fell back with Ewell's Division. Dur- 
ing the night of April 5th his battalion became separated into two 
parts, and each mistaking the other for the enemy, began firing. 
Major Smith endeavored to put a stop to it, but received a wound 
from which he died. 



FIELD AND STAIF, NORFOLK. 311 

Captain Robert G. Portlock enlisted in Company F at the 
beginning of the war and was on duty with it at Craney Island 
when he was promoted to Sergeant Major of the 9th Virginia 
Regiment. After the evacuation of Norfolk he hecame Captain 
of "the President's Guard and did provost duty in Richmond. 
Subsequently he was tranferred to the trans-Mississippi Depart- 
ment and appointed to a position on the staff of General Pagan, 
commanding cavalry. He was wounded at the battle of Poison 
Spring and his promotion to Major was approved at the War De- 
partment, though the Avar ended before he received his commis- 
sion. He surrendered wit 1 . 1 the army in Arkansas after the fall 
of the Confederacy. 

Major Wm. E. Taylor, though not so commissioned in the Con- 
federate army, deserves mention in this connection. Previous to 
the war the different volunteer companies of Norfolk composed a 
battalion, of which Major Taylor was commander, and when hos- 
tilities began and the battalion was enlarged into a regiment he 
naturally "expected to lie made its Colonel, but Governor Letcher 
appointed Colonel Mahoue to command it and offered Major Tay- 
lor the position of Lieutenant-Colonel. This, however, he declined 
and withdrew from the regiment. He served for a while on the 
staff of General Gwynn, commanding the defences of- Norfolk, 
and in that capacity hoisted the State flag of the Columbus Light 
Guard of Georgia over the battery at Seawell's Point on the 19th 
of May, 1861, "when the Monticello made her attack upon it. 
Though well advanced hv years and having two grown sons in the 
army (one of them Major R. B. Taylor, of the 6th Regiment), he 
was "not willing to remain an idle spectator of events, but enlisted 
as a private in the Seaboard Rifles of Princess Anne county, Com- 
pany F, 6th Virginia Regiment, and carried his musket until 1863, 
when his health and strength broke down and he was discharged 
on account of old age and physical disability. His discharge was 
obtained for him by friends without his knowledge. 

Major Robert B. Taylor was a son of Major Wm. E. Taylor. 
He entered the service at the beginning of the war as 1st Lieu- 
tenant of Company A, 6th Virginia Regiment, and on the 22d of 
August was elected Captain of the Woodis Riflemen, Company C. 
At the reorganization of the regiment, in May, 1862, he was 
elected Major, which position he held until the surrender at Ap- 
pomattox. ' The regiment was a part of Mahone's Brigade, and 
participated in about thirty-seven engagements, in most of which 
Major Taylor was present and yet fortunately escaped without a 
wound. 

Major John Saunders Taylor was an officer in the United 
States navy when the war began, but resigned upon the secession 
of Virginia and entered the Confederate army as a Captain. He 
was present as an advisory ordnance officer at the battle of Roan- 
oke Island, and as commander of the heavy artillery in Fort Hu- 



312 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5 

ger distinguished himself in its defence. He was captured with 
the garrison. He was subsequently exchanged, promoted to Ma- 
jor commanding a battalion of light artillery, and killed at Sharps- 
burg September 17th, 1862. 

Major Richard C. Taylor entered the service at the begin- 
ning of the Avar as Captain of the Independent Grays, Company 
H, 6th Virginia Regiment, and was ordered to Craney Island 
with his company, but was shortly afterwards promoted to Major 
of Artillery and ordered to the entrenched camp near Norfolk to 
command the battalion of artillery which was on duty there. 
He was there until the evacuation of Norfolk, in May, 1862, 
when, after serving a short while on General Mahone's staff, he 
was ordered to Chaffin's Bluff. On the 20th of September, 1864, 
General Butler appeared before Fort Harrison, near Chaffin's 
Bluff, which was at the time without a garrison. Major Taylor 
hastened there with one company and directed others to follow, 
but before reinforcements could arrive the attack had been made 
and the fort carried by assault. Major Taylor made a gallant 
fight with the one company and inflicted a heavy loss upon his 
assailants, but his numbers were too small for an effectual resist- 
ance. He was severely wounded and fell into the hands of the 
enemy. 

THE MEDICAL CORPS. 

Dr. John C. Baylor, Surgeon Camp Winder Hospital. 

Dr. Richard D. Bagnall, Assistant Surgeon 3d Georgia Regiment. 

Dr. James D. Gait, Surgeon Pig Point Battery and afterwards with 18th 
Virginia Infantry. 

Dr. W. J. Moore, Surgeon in Charge hospitals at Liberty and Richmond. 

Dr. Herbert M. Nash, Surgeon 9th Virginia, Surgeon 61st Virginia, and 
Chief Surgeon Artillery, 3d Corps. 

Dr. Wm. Selden, Surgeon hospitals at Richmond and Liberty. 

Dr. Robert Southgate, Inspector of Hospitals and Medical Examiner-Gen- 
eral Medical Staff. 

Dr. T. B. Ward, Surgeon Mahone's Brigade, 6th Va. Regiment. 

Dr. James II. Southall, Surgeon Archer's Brigade. 

Dr. F. A. Walke, Surgeon 46th Virginia Regiment. 

QUARTERMASTERS AND COMMISSARIES. 

A. B. Cooke, Major and Q. M. Southwest and trans. Mississippi Depart- 
ments. 

O. H. P. Corprew, Captain and A. Q. M. Mahone's Brigade. 

George Chamberlaine, Captain and A. C. S. 9th Virginia Infantry. 

J. Wiley Grandy, Major and Q. M. Army Northern Virginia. 

James Barron Hope, Captain and A. Q. M. Lawton's Brigade. 

J. Barry King, Captain and A. Q. M. Lightfoot's Battalion Artillery. 

Joseph Walters, Major and A. Q. M. 

John W. Moore, Captain and A. Q. M. 

W. C. Marrow, Major and A. Q. M. Army Northern Virginia. 

Tazewell Thompson, Major and Commissary. 

George C. Reid, Captain and A. Q. M. Colonel Griffin's Georgia Regiment 
(62d.) 

James Y. Leigh, Captain and A. Q. M. 

A. Meade Smith, Major and Commissary Rosser's Cavalry Brigade. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



IN THE NAVY NORFOLK. 

Norfolk city was represented in the navy by the following of- 
ficers, whose residences were in the city at the beginning of the 
war. They are arranged alphabetically and not by grade : 

CAPTAINS. 

Samuel Barron, John R. Tucker, Wm. C. Whittle. 



COMMANDERS. 

Jas. L. Henderson, Chas. F. Mcintosh, 
Chas. H. Kennedy, Robt. B. Pegram, 
Benj. P. Loyall, Arthur Sinclair. 

Wm. A. Webb. 



C. F. M. Spottswood, 
Geo. T. Sinclair, 
R. D. Thorborn, 



Sam'l Barron, Jr., 
Otey Bradford, 
Chas. Borum, 
A. M. DeBree, 
Thos. L. Dornin, 
J. Pembrook Jones, 

Geo. Blacknall, 
Jas. Cornick, 
Richard JefTry. 

John DeBree, 

Richard Evans, 
John R. Gibbs, 
Lemuel Langley, 

H. S. Cook, 
F. B. Dornin, 
C. K. Mallory, 
P. H. McCarrick. 



Wm. Sharp, 
Thos. L. Skinner, 
John Wilkinson, 
Wm. II. Ward, 
Wm. C. Whittle, Jr., 
W. L. Winder. 



LIEUTENANTS. 

Chas. K. King, 
Patrick McCarrick, 
Chas. B. Oliver, 
Wm. H. Parker, 
Henry Roberts, 
Arthur Sinclair, Jr. 

SURGEONS. 

F. L. Gait, W. B. Sinclair, 

Lewis D. Minor, Jno. DeBree, Jr. (asst.) 

W. F. McClenahan, R. J. Freeman, (asst.) 

PAYMASTERS. 

Rich'd Taylor (asst.), L. B. Reardon (asst.) 

MASTERS. 

Jas. W. McCarrick, Wm. B. Whitehead, 
Wyndham R. Mayo, Henry Wilkinson, 
Lewis Parrisk, 



MIDSHIPMEN. 

Yirginius ISTewton, 
Jas. W. Pegram, 
L. M. Rootes, 
Palmer Saunders. 
W. B. Sinclair. 



CHIEF ENGINEERS. 

Yirginius Freeman, 



Wm. P. Williamson, 

Engr.-in-Chief, Thos. A. Jackson 

21 313 



Geo. T. Sinclair, 
W. H. Sinclair, 
Joshua C. Wright, 
W. W. Wilkinson, 



H. A. Ramsey, 
Henry X. Wright. 



314 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-3 

ASSISTANT ENGINEERS. 

Jas. Carlon, James F. Green, Chas. W. Jordan, 

J. T. Doland, E. G. Hall, John R. Jordan, 

J. M. Freeman, dr., Wm. F. Harding-, John 0. Johnson, 

W. J. Freeman, M. P. Jordan, John T. Tucker. 

GUNNERS. 

Ben]. A. Barrom, B. F. Hughes, Stephen Schisano. 

Crawford Gormley. E. R. Johnson, 

BOATSWAIN,-. 

W. T. Smith, Peter Tarn 

masters' mates. 
A. G. Corran, Arthur Freeman, ¥m. McBlair, 

Robt. Freeman, fm. H. Fitzgerald, Chas. R. McBlair, 

T. S. Gray, ^ W. W. Skinner. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Marine Corps — First Lieutenant T. P. Gwiim. 
Acting Naval Constructor — Wm. A. Graves. 
Sailmaker — Samuel V. Turner. 
Total— 98. Killed and died— 5. 

( Aptain Samuel Barron was. appointed Midshipman in the 
United States Navy by special act of Congress on the 1st of Jan- 
uary, IS 12, at the age of four years, and made his first cruise to 
the Mediterranean at the age of eight years, the youngest naval 
officer afloat. He was commissioned a Captain on the lltn of 
September, 1855, and at the secession of Virginia resigned and 
was appointed in the Virginia navy. He was subsequently com- 
missioned in the Confederate navy, and had command of Fort 
Hatteras in August, 1861, when it was captured by the Federals. 
Subsequently he was sent abroad on duty for the Confederate 
Government. 

Captain John R. Tucker made quite a name for himself as 
commander of the steamer Patrick Henry in the battles of the 
8th and 9th of March, 1862, in Hampton Roads. He entered the 
United States navy on the 1st of June. 1820, was promoted Com- 
mander September 14th. 1855, and at that grade entered the Con- 
federate navy. He was promoted to Captain in the Confederate 
navy for gallant and meritorious services. History has not done 
credit to the officers and men on the wooden vessels in that fa- 
mous engagement in Hampton Roads. The novelty of the iron- 
clad Virginia has served to attract attention to her and away 
from her equally as gallant and much more exposed companions. 
Captain Tucker subsequently commanded the Charleston squad- 
ron and contributed materially towards keeping the Federal squad- 
ron out of that harbor. 



IN THE NAVY— NORFOLK. 315 

Captain Wm. C. "Whittle was born in 1805, and entered the 
United States navy May 10th, 1820. He was piomoted to Com- 
mander August 4th, 1850, and held that rank at the beginning- of 
the war. lie entered the Virginia navy and was subsequently 
transferred to the Confederate navy. His first duty with the Con- 
federacy was in command of the defences of York river, where 
he superintended the erection of a battery at Gloucester Point. He 
relieved Captain Hollins in command of the naval station at New 
Orleans, and was filling that position in April, 1862, when the 
city fell into the hands of the enemy. 

Commander Benjamin P. Loyall entered the United States 
navy March 5th, 1849, and was appointed Lieutenant on the 28th 
of January, 1856. His last duty in the United States navy was 
on the sloop-of-war Constellation on the African station. He re- 
turned home, resigned and entered the Confederate service on 
the 26th of November, 1861, and was assigned to duty at Roanoke 
Island with the rank of Captain in the army. He was present 
and participated in the battle there, and was very favorably men- 
tioned by Colonel Shaw in his official report, and also in the offi- 
cial report of Major G. H. Hill, who commanded Fort Bartow. 
Lieutenant Loyall fell into the hands of the enemy upon the sur- 
render of the island, but was subsequently exchanged. He served 
the Confederacy in various capacities s in the line of his profes- 
sion, and was second in command of the boat expedition under 
Captain John Taylor "Wood, which captured the United States 
steamer Underwriter at Newberne, N. C., at 2 o'clock a. m. on 
the 1st of February, 1864. The Underwriter was manned with 
one 6-inch rifle gun, one 8-inch, one 12-pounder rifle, and one 12- 
pounder howitzer. Lieutenant Loyall commanded the second di- 
vision of boats and was the first to board the vessel. She was 
captured after a desperate defence on the part of her crew. Lieu- 
tenant Loyall was promoted to the grade of Commander for gal- 
lantry on this occasion and was assigned to the command of the 
iron-clad gunboat Neuse, on the upper waters of the Neuse river. 
It was in the attack upon the Underwriter that Midshipman Pal- 
mer Saunders of Norfolk was killed by a blow on the head from 
a cutlass. Midshipman II. S. Cook of Norfolk, also took part in 
this engagement and displayed marked courage. After the cap- 
ture of the vessel she was set on fire by the Confederates and de- 
stroyed. 

Commander Charles F. McIntosh was born on the 24th of 
October, 1813, entered the United States service November 1st, 
1828, and was promoted to Commander March 2d, 1857. At the 
beginning of the war he was commanding the Naval Rendezvous 
at Norfolk, and immediately tendered his resignation and entered 
the Virginia navy. He was ordered to the Naval Hospital Point 
and superintended the erection of the batteries there. He re- 



316 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

mained there, as commander of the post, with the rank of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel in the army, until April, 1862, when he was or- 
dered to New Orleans and assigned to the command of the unfin- 
ished iron-clad Louisiana. While at the Hospital battery Com- 
mander Mcintosh was very popular with the officers and men of 
the garrison, his genial disposition, kind heart and thorough fa- 
miliarity with the working of heavy guns were qualifications 
which at once won their esteem, and they regretted his departure 
to another field of duty. The Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Mal- 
lory, has been censured for the delay in the completion of the 
Louisiana, and also of the iron-clad Mississippi, but as a Congres- 
sional investigating committee exonerated him from blame, that 
report will be accepted by the g-eneral historians as conclusive, but 
there is no reason to question that, though Mr. Mallory displayed 
great energy, he also displayed a lack of judgment. This was 
fully illustrated in the testimony of Engineer-in-Chief William P. 
Williamson before the committee, page 285. He says the contract 
to make the main shaft of the Mississippi was made with the 
Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, and it required two months 
for that establishment to make preparations to commence work, 
while at the Gosport Navy Yard there were ample facilities for 
it without any additional preparations. The shafts of the steamer 
Glen Cove were used for the purpose. Thus, in this particular, 
two months of valuable time was lost and the vessel was not ready 
when the Federal fleet made the attack. On the 24th of April, 
1862, Admiral Farragut ran past Forts Jackson and St. Philip. 
The Louisiana, with her machinery unfinished, M r as moored to the 
bank of the river above Fort St. Philip. She was covered with 
railroad iron and mounted sixteen guns. She was under com- 
mand of Commander Mcintosh, and was also the flagship of Com- 
modore Mitchell, commanding the squadron. Farragut ran past 
her also, and a large Federal vessel becoming temporarily unman- 
ageable on account of the disarrangement of a portion of her ma- 
chinery, was carried by the current alongside of the Louisiana. 
Captain Mcintosh, apprehending an attack by boarders, rushed 
upon the upper deck, followed by a portion of his crew, to repel 
the anticipated attack, and it was while there that he received his 
death wound. He lingered until the 28th, when he died, and on ' 
that day, by order of Commodore Mitchell, the Louisiana was set 
on fire and abandoned. It looks now as if both of those vessels 
would have been finished and Farragut's fleet defeated had the 
efforts of the Navy Department been concentrated upon them in- 
stead of being distributed where they were not so necessary. 
Had this been done Captain Mcintosh might have lived to have 
rendered additional service to the Southern cause. In the early 
part of the war Secretary Mallory's efforts were directed mainly 
towards having built in Europe one or more sea-going iron-clads 



IN THE NA VY— NORFOLK. 317 

to keep the Federals away from the Southern coast, but he found 
himself unable to do so, and in a report to Congress, dated No- 
vember 20th, 1861, he said he " has found it impracticable to pur- 
chase abroad •such vessels as we require, and the Department has 
commenced the construction of iron-clad vessels in our own coun- 
try, and has stimulated the supplies of coal and iron for this pur- 
pose." Here is where Mr. Mallory made his mistake. When he 
finally decided to build the iron-clads at home he found himself 
without engines for them and without iron to cover them, and 
the Southern ports were blockaded. Had he taken advice which 
was given him early in the w T ar to import armor iron and steam 
engines before the Southern ports were closed, the results would 
have been very different, and many men whose lives were lost in 
endeavoring to defend untenable positions might not have been 
sacrificed. 

Commander Robert B. Pegram entered the United States 
navy February 2d, 1829, and was appointed a Lieutenant Sep- 
tember 8, 1841. His last service in the United States navy was 
at the Gosport Navy Yard. At the beginning of the war he re- 
signed and was ordered by Governor Letcher on the 18th of 
April, 1861, to take command of the naval station at Norfolk and 
organize a naval force. He was relieved on the 22d by Commo- 
dore Forrest and ordered to superintend the building of a battery 
at Pig Point, at the mouth of the Nansemond river, and was in 
command of that post on the 5th of June, when the Harriet Lane 
made an attack upon it. He was afterwards assigned to the com- 
mand of the Nashville, with which he ran the blockade and 
crossed over to Europe. This vessel was originally intended to 
carry Messrs. Mason and Slidell to Europe, but it was subse- 
quently decided that they should take another route. He re- 
turned from Europe on the Nashville, and was a member of the 
naval court to investigate the charges against Commodore Tatnall 
of having destroyed the Virginia unnecessarily. In 1864 he was 
in command of the iron-clad Virginia, one of the vessels in the 
James river squadron at Richmond, armed with two 6 and two 8- 
inch rifle guns and plated with six inches of armor on her sides 
and eight inches on her ends, but was never given an opportunity 
to engage the enemy. 

Commander W. A. Webb resigned from the United States navy 
as a Lieutenant and entered the Confederate service. His first 
duties with the Confederacy were at Fernanclina, Florida, where 
he superintended the erection of a number of batteries. - He was 
subsequently assigned to the command of the gunboat Teazer, in 
James river, and commanded her in the naval engagement in 
Hampton Roads on the 8th and 9th of March, 1862. On the 
19th of February, 1863, he was ordered by Secretary Mallory to 
take charge of a boat expedition to board the monitors off Charles- 



318 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

ton harbor and capture them or sink them by torpedoes, but 
nothing came of it, and later he was ordered to command the 
iron-clad ram Atlanta, at Savannah. On the 17th of June, 1863, 
he proceeded to Warsaw Sound to attack the monitors Weehaw- 
ken and Mohawk, but the Atlanta got immovably aground and 
was surrendered to the enemy. The Federals sent her to Phila- 
delphia, repaired damages, and the following February sent her 
to Fortress Monroe to operate against the Confederates in Vir- 
ginia. 

The eighteen Lieutenants whom Norfolk contributed to the 
Confederate navy rendered efficient service. 

Lieutenant Thomas L. Doenin was wounded in Battery Bu- 
chanan, near Fort Fisher, during the attack on that work, in Jan- 
uary, 1865. He was a Lieutenant on the Chicamauga, but volun- 
teered to defend the fort and worked like a private soldier, spong- 
ing one of the two 7-inch rifle Brooke guns until it burst. He 
then transferred his sponge to the other and served until that 
burst also. He was severely wounded by a piece of shell from 
the Federal fleet. 

Lieutenant J. Pembeook Jones served early in the war at Sa- 
vannah in command of the armed tug Resolute, and was after- 
wards promoted to command the iron-clad Georgia. In May, 
1864, he was captain of the iron-clad gunboat Raleigh, at- Wil- 
mington, and on the 6th of that month steamed outside the Cape 
Fear river and scattered the fleet of blockaders, but on returning 
unfortunately ran aground on the bar and the back of the Vessel 
was broken. She proved a total loss. 

Lieutenant Chaeles B. Olivee served as a warrant officer on 
the Virginia, and was promoted for gallant and meritorious ser- 
vices on that and other occasions. 

Lieutenant W. H. Paekee was promoted to Commander for 
gallant services. He was in the battle of Roanoke Island in com- 
mand of the gunboat Beaufort, and also in the fight in Hampton 
Roads, March 8th and 9th, 1862, in command of the same vessel. 
His services in the navy were varied and valuable, and in 1864 
he commanded the iron-clad steamer Richmond, at Richmond. 
Since the war he published a book, " Recollections of a Naval 
Officer," which has been regarded as high authority upon the sub- 
jects of which it treats. It embraces his own personal observa- 
tions. 

Lieutenant Heney Robeets was a Lieutenant in Captain John 
J. Young's harbor guard, and was appointed a Lieutenant in the 
navy in 1864. 

Lieutenant Wm. Shaep was a Lieutenant in the United States 
navy and was stationed at the Gosport Navy Yard at the break- 
ing out of the war and entered the Virginia navy. He was on 
duty at the Naval Hospital batteries and also on Craney Island 



IN THE NA VY-NORFOLK. 319 

in April and May, 1861. In July, 1861, he was ordered to North 
Carolina as aid to Commodore Barron, and was severely wounded 
at the fall of Fort Hatteras, April 29th, and fell into the hands of 
the enemy. He was exchanged later in 1862, and ordered to the 
Patrick Henry. He was on her during the engagements of March 
8th and 9th, 1862, in Hampton Roads, and was shortly after- 
wards assigned to the command of the gunboat Beaufort, and 
was also on her on the 11th of June, when the Virginia and 
other Confederate vessels made their second visit to Hampton 
Roads. In 1864 he was on duty in North Carolina supervising 
the building of the gunboat Neuse, and when the war closed had 
charge of the naval ordnance stores at Charleston. 

Lieutenant John Wilkinson was promoted to Commander for 
meritorious services. His first duty in the Confederate service 
was rendered in April, 1861, when he supervised the erection of 
a battery at Fort Powhatan, on James river. In May he was 
sent to Aquia Creek on similar duty. He commanded the steamer 
Jackson at New Orleans in 1862, and was Executive Officer of 
the Louisiana when Captain Mcintosh was killed, .after which he 
commanded the vessel. He was captured upon the fall of New 
Orleans, and after being exchanged was sent to Europe to pur- 
chase a vessel. He commanded the expedition to release Confed- 
erate prisoners on Johnson's Island. He commanded several 
blockade runners, among them the R. E. Lee. He also com- 
manded the cruisers Chicamauga and Tennessee. With this last 
vessel he ran out of Wilmington on the 24th of December, 
1864, while the Federal fleet was bombarding Fort Fisher, and 
was at sea when the war ended. 

Lieutenant W. II. Wakd was a Lieutenant in the United 
States navy. He entered the service February 17th, 1849, and 
was appointed Lieutenant September 9th, 1856. His services in 
the Confederate navy were valuable to the Government. He 
commanded the boat expedition which removed the troops from 
Morris' Island, Charleston harbor, in 1864, was second in com- 
mand of the cruiser Tallahassee when, under Captain John Tay- 
lor Wood, she made her successful cruise against the Federal com- 
merce, and afterwards was in command of the same vessel under 
the name of the Olustee, made a successful cruise on her and re- 
turned safely to Wilmington. He afterwards commanded the 
Chicamauga at Wilmington and took part in the defence of Fort 
Fisher, in January, 1865. From there he was ordered to Rich- 
mond, was with the naval brigade on the retreat from Richmond, 
and took part in the battle of Saylor's Creek. He was second in 
command of a boat expedition which left Drury's Bluff February 
10th, 1865, to destroy, with torpedoes, the Federal iron-clacls at 
City Point, and which failed on account of the treachery of one 
of the officers of the expedition. The circumstances of this affair 



320 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

are somewhat peculiar, and are detailed in an article by Master 
W. F. Shippey, of the C. S. Navy, in Vol. XII, page 416, of the 
Southern Historical Society Papers. It seems that after the fail- 
ure of Commodore Mitchell's squadron at Richmond to engage 
and destroy the Federal iron-clads at City Point a boat expedition 
left Drury's Bluff to accomplish that object by means of torpe- 
does. The expedition numbered one hundred and one officers 
and men, and was under command of Lieutenant C. W. Read of 
the navy, with Lieutenant W. II. Ward second in command. The 
expedition had several boats, mounted on wheels and drawn by 
mules. It was also supplied with long booms with arrangements 
at the ends for fastening torpedoes. The plan was to move at a 
distance around the left of Grant's army, then in front of Peters- 
burg, and reach James river in Surry county or Prince George 
and remain concealed on the shore until an opportunity might 
present itself of capturing one or more tugs passing up or down 
the river, then to tit the torpedo booms on them, ascend the river 
to City Point and sink the Federal iron-clads anchored there. 
The expedition* left Drury's Bluff on the 10th of February, 1805, 
and Lieutenant Lewis was sent ahead as a scout to reconnoiter. 
He was to rejoin the party at a ford of the Blackwater river and 
pilot them from there to the James river. Lewis is said to have 
been a Northern man, and was at Norfolk at the beginning of 
the war. He enlisted in the Confederate army and served faith- 
fully with his company until June 29th, 1864, when he was ap- 
pointed a Lieutenant in the volunteer navy and enjoyed the con- 
fidence of his brother officers. Everything went well with the 
expedition for the first three days. Grant's army was successfully 
turned without discovery, and on the afternoon of the third day, 
when near the ford of the Blackwater the party sought temporary 
shelter from a severe storm of rain and sleet. While engaged in 
drying their clothing a young Confederate soldier made his ap- 
pearance and informed them that he had just escaped from the 
Federal lines, where he had been as a prisoner of war, that Lewis 
had deserted to the enemy and betrayed the expedition, and was 
then at the Blackwater ford with a regiment of infantry, lying in 
ambush, waiting for their approach, and that just before he suc- 
ceeded in making his escape he overheard Lewis and the Federal 
commander talking the matter over. Lieutenant Read halted his 
command where it was and went forward alone to examine the 
river and rejoined his men the next day, having ascertained the 
correctness of the report of the young soldier. The party suc- 
ceeded in getting back to Drury's Bluff with whole skins but dis- 
appointed hopes. Several bodies of Federal cavalry were scour- 
ing the country in search of them, but Lieutenant Read suc- 
ceeded in eluding them. 

Lieutenant Wm. C. Whittle, Jk., was an officer in the U. S. 



IN THE NA VY- NORFOLK. 321 

Navy and entered the Confederate Navy as Lieutenant, June 11th, 
1861. He was one of the Lieutenants on the iron-clad Louisiana 
under. Captain Mcintosh, at New Orleans, was 2d Lieutenant on . 
the cruiser Nashville, when she sailed for Wilmington under Cap- 
tain R. B. Pegram, and was 1st Lieutenant of the cruiser Shenan- 
doah, under Captain Waddell, which destroyed an amount of 
Federal commerce second only to that destroyed by the Ala- 
bama. 

Lieutenant Patrick McCarrick was captain of the steamer 
Northampton, plying between Norfolk and the Eastern Shore of 
Virginia, when the war began, and brought to Norfolk the first 
information that the Pawnee was coming up the harbor to rein- 
force the Navy Yard. He volunteered in the navy of the State 
of North Carolina, and was appointed 1st Lieutenant and after- 
wards commander of the steamboat J. E. Coffee, which was con- 
verted into a gunboat, and named the Winslow. While in com- 
mand of this vessel he made frequent trips outside of Hatteras In- 
let, and raptured a number of prizes, among them several West 
India schooners loaded with molassas and fruit. He lost his ves- 
sel by running on a sunken wreck in Ocracoke Inlet, November 
4th, 1861, just after gallantly rescuing the officers and crew of the 
French corvette Prony, which was ashore on the beach near that 
place. This was a brave rescue, and was successfully made after 
the United States fleet had left the Frenchmen to their fate. 
Captain McCarrick was the recipient of a very cordial letter of 
thanks from the French Vice-Consul at Norfolk. In June, 1861, 
he was transferred to the Confederate Navy as master, and on the 
18th of March, 1862, was promoted to Lieutenant. After the loss 
of the Winslow he was assigned to the command of the gunboat 
Seabird, Commodore Lynch's flag-ship, in the North Carolina 
sounds. He was in the naval engagements at Roanoke Island, 
and Elizabeth City, and fought his vessel until she went to the 
bottom. He was captured at Elizabeth City, but was exchanged, 
and went out with Captain John Wilkinson from Wilmington as 
lirst officer of a blockade runner, and was also with him in the 
expedition to release the Confederate prisoners on Johnson's Is- 
land, which failed to accomplish anything through the thought- 
lessness of one of the Confederate agents, by whose inadvertence 
the affair became known. 

Surgeon George Blacknall resigned from the United States 
Navy at the beginning of the war, and was assigned to the charge 
of the Naval Hospital at Portsmouth, where he died on the 21st 
of January, 1862. 

Master James W. McCarrick was appointed a Master's Mate 
in the Navy, subsequently promoted to Master, and was recom- 
mended for promotion to a Lieutenancy, but the close of the war 
prevented it. He was on the gunboat Seabird in the battles of 



322 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Roanoke Island and Elizabeth City in February, 1862, and was 
captured at the latter place. A few days subsequently he was re- 
leased on parole and returned to Norfolk. Quite an amusing in- 
cident occurred in connection with his exchange. Most of the 
officers captured at Elizabeth City had been exchanged, but Mr. 
McCarrick still remained on parole, for the reason that the Con- 
federates had not captured an officer of his grade, Master's Mate, 
to exchange for him, and when the Virginia (Merrimac) went 
down to Hampton Roads on the 8th of March to fight the Fed- 
eral fleet, she was accompanied by the gunboats Raleigh and Beau- 
fort. Attached to the Beaufort was Midshipman Chas. K. Mal- 
lory, of Norfolk, and as she was about to move off Mr. McCarrick 
called to him : " Charley, bring a Yankee Master's Mate back 
with you so that I can be exchanged for him." When the Con- 
gress struck her colors, Midshipman Mallory was one of the first 
to jump on board of her, and seeing a man with the uniform of a 
Master's Mate on, took him prisoner and transferred him to the 
Beaufort. The next day, upon their return to the Navy Yard, 
Mr. McCarrick was on one of the lower wharves in Norfolk to see 
them pass by, and being noticed by Midshipman Mallory, and 
being within hailing distance, that young tar called to him and 
informed him that he had brought back a Master's Mate for him, 
and it so happened that Mr. McCarrick was exchanged for that 
very man. He afterwards served on the Tuscaloosa, and was 
Master on the Tennessee, Admiral Buchanan's flag-ship, at Mo- 
bile. 

Master Wyndam R. Mayo entered the Confederate service as 
a Midshipman, on the 8th of July, 1861. He was at the Naval 
Academy at Annapolis at the beginning of the war, having en- 
tered there on the 21st of September, 1860. He was promoted to 
Master and took part in the defence of Battery Buchanan in Jan- 
uary, 1865, as one of the crew of the Chicamauga. 

Midshipman Chas. K. Mallory was attached to the Beaufort 
in the battles in Hampton Roads, March 8th and 9th, 1862, and 
was said to have been the first Confederate to board the Congress. 
He lost his life on board the gunboat Chattahoochee in Florida, 
on the 1st of June, 1863, when she exploded her boiler. 

Midshipman P. H. McCarrick was a son of Lieutenant Patrick 
McCarrick. He was attached to the gunboats Raleigh and Teazer 
and died from sickness. 

Midshipman Palmer Saunders enlisted in Company G, 6th 
Yirginia Regiment, (old Company F,) and was subsequently ap- 
pointed a midshipman in the navy. He lost his life in the cap- 
ture of the Federal gunboat Underwriter at Newberne, on the 1st 
of February, 1864, from a cut over the head with a cutlass. 

Chief Engineer Wm. P. Williamson entered the United States 
service October 20th, 1842, and was made a chief engineer March 



IN THE NA VY— NORFOLK. 323 

15th, 1845. At the beginning of the war he was the senior en- 
gineer in the navy, and was appointed Engineer in Chief in the 
Confederate Navy, a position corresponding to that of Chief 
of the Bureau of Steam Engineering in the United States Navy. 

Chief Engigeer H. A. Ramsey was Chief Engineer on the 
Virginia when she had the engagements in Hampton Roads, and 
was attached to her in that capacity until her destruction by order 
of Commodore Tatnall. 

Master's Mate Arthur Freeman was a member of a company 
of youths in Norfolk, who did provost duty in the city the first 
year of the war, and upon the evacuation of Norfolk, the com- 
pany having disbanded, he went to North Carolina and became 
Orderly Sergeant of a Company of Junior Reserves, and was on 
duty at Goldsboro. He was subsequently appointed a Master's 
Mate in the navy, was stationed at Savannah, and was with the 
boarding party which captured the United States gunboat Water 
Witch in Ossabaw Sound, on the 3d of June, 1864. 

Chief Engineer Yirginius Freeman resigned from the U. S. 
Navy and joined the Confederate Navy, was Chief Engineer of 
the steamer McCrea at New Orleans, and afterwards superinten- 
ded the preparation' of the machinery of the Mississippi and Louis- 
iana in that city. He was Chief Engineer of the Palmetto State 
when Captain Ingraham attacked the blockading fleet off Charles- 
ton, and was attached to the expedition to release the Confederate 
prisoners at Point Lookout, which failed because information of 
it was conveyed to the enemy. 



CHAPTER XLYI. 



IN OTHEK COMMANDS. 



There were a large number of Norfolk men attached to com- 
mands which were organized in other localities, and on account of 
the long lapse of time since the close of the war many of them 
cannot be recalled to memory, but the author, after diligent 
search, has been able to rescue the following from oblivion. He 
feels, however, that there is an unav6idable omission of many 
names which should be found here : 

Burgess, T. J., Sergeant Co. A, 7th Georgia Cavalry. 

Beall, Edward, private Otey Battery of Lynchburg. 

Brown, George, private Fayette Artillery, Richmond. 

Baker, John C, Lieutenant North Carolina Junior Reserves. 

Broughton, Thos. B., hospital steward. 

Bullock, W. H., private Company F, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 

Bluford, Geo. W., private Co. D, 1st Virginia Reserves. 

Carnm, Robt. J., private New Orleans Cadets, killed at Shiloh, April, 1862. 

Corprew, John B., private Co. F, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 

Fletcher, Hannibal, private Company I, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 

Fatherly, Matthew W., Lieutenant 8th North Carolina Regiment. 

Foster, W. E., Major and Ordnance Officer Custis Lee's Brigade, local de- 
fence troops. 

Grandy, P. H., Major 1st North Carolina Regiment, killed at Gaines' Mill. 

Grandy, A. H., Lieut. Co. B., 8th North Carolina Regiment. 

Glennan, M., commissary sergeant of post at Fort Fisher. 

Ghiselin, Jas. W., private, killed at Shiloh, April, 1862. 

Harris, Hunter, private Daring's Cavalry. 

Henderson, Thos. W., courier headquarters Army Northern Virginia, 

Johnston, Chas. H., courier Gen. Pemberton's headquarters. 

Johnston, Geo. W., Co. 1, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 

Johnston, James V., private Co. F, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 

Leigh, Roscoe, private Co. I, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 

Martin, Geo. G., private Co. A, 3d Virginia Reserves. 

Mayer, John F., sergeant Co. A, 3d Virginia Reserves. 

Marsden, F. C, private Richmond Howitzers. 

McKenney, Jas. M., private Richmond Howitzers. 

Moore, Walter S., ensign 61st Virginia Regiment. 

Newton, Thos., private Co. F, 6th Virginia Regiment, killed Sept.lllh, 1862, 
at Cramptou Gap. 

Parks, Marshall, commissioner for North Carolina, and special service. 

Pearce, Frank, private 13th Virginia Cavalry. 

Reed, Wm. C, private Co. F, 15th Virginia Cavalry. 

Rosson, John A., private Co. A, Mosby's Rangers. 

Rickhow, Wm. H., purser's steward C. S.Navy. 

Rogers, W. F., Captain Revenue Marine, detailed with the navy. 

Smith, Peter, private North Carolina Regiment. 

Selden, Wm., Captain of Engineers C. S. Army, killed at Roanoke Island, 
Feb. 8th, 1862. 

Sharp, John H., private Otey Battery, Lynchburg. 

Saunders, Hunter, private Richmond Howitzers. 

Santos, Alex., private Richmond Howitzers. 

Todd, Westwood A., private Co. E, 12th Virginia Regiment, promoted ord- 
nance officer Weiseger's Brigade, wounded Aug. 30th, 1862, at Second 
Manassas. 

324 



IN OTHER COMMANDS. 325 

Turner, Robt. G., seaman C. S. Navy. 

Tucker, John S., Captain, lost an arm at Corinth. 

Taylor, Washington, Adjutant Scott's Battalion, local defence troops, Rich- 
mond. 

Thomas, J. W., Jr., Lieutenant Artillery Corps C. S. A. 

Walke, W. T., private Co. I, loth Virginia Cavalry, promoted Adjutant 
39th Virginia Cavalry Battalion. 

Webber, John S., sergeant Co. A, 38th Battalion Virginia Artillery. 

Wyatt, John, sergeant North Carolina Regiment. 

Williamson, John G., sergeant Co. A, 3d Virginia Reserves, surrendered at 
Appomattox. 

Williams, Win. Carter, Captain Co. B, 6th Virginia, killed at Chancellors- 
ville. 

Worrell, Ed. W., sergeant Co. C, 6th North Carolina Cavalry. 
Killed and died— 5. 

DETACHED ROLLS AT APPOMATTOX. 

The following men belonging to detached commands are recor- 
ded as having been paroled at Appomattox. 

FROM NORFOLK COUNTY. 

B. A. Armistead, Sergeant Company I, 13th Virginia Cavalry. 
Lloyd Bunting, private Company C, 13th Virginia Cavalry. 
John T. Griffin, captain and assistant civil engineer. 
Geo. N. Halstead, Assistant Surgeon C. S. Navy. 
Geo. W. Wallace, private Signal Corps. 
Wm. H. Halstead, private Signal Corps. 

FROM NORFOLK CITY. 

Lieutenant Jos. T. Allyn, attached to ordnance. 

Assistant Surgeon Richard D. Bagnall, 3d Georgia Regiment. 

Lieutenant F. E. Goodridge, ordnance duty, Pickett's Division. 

Captain and A. Q. M., 0. H. P. Corprew, Mahone's Division. 

Surgeon F. L. Gait, C. S. Navy. 

Chaplain Robt. Gatewood, Starke's Artillery Battalion. 

Lieutenant Chas. K. King, C. S. Navy. 

Quartermaster Wm. C. Marrow. 

Lieutenant B. A. Marsden, Co. D, 1st Va. Battalion. 

Surgeon Herbert M. Nash, Artillery, 3d Corps. 

Private W. Hunter Saunders, Richmond Howitzers, General Long's head- 
quarters. 

Lieutenant-Colonel John S. Saunders, attached to ordnance. 

Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Starke, commanding artillery battalion. 

Courier John H. Sharp, headquarters artillery, 1st corps General E. P. Al- 
exander. 

Master's Mate Wm. Smith, C. S. Navy. 

Surgeon J. H. Southall, 55th Virginia Regiment. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Walter H. Taylor, Adjutant General, staff of General R. 
E. Lee. 

FROM PORTSMOUTH. 

Tudor F. Brooks, Commissary Department, Mahone's Brigade. 

W. T. Fentress, Lieutenant Light Artillery, on detached service. 

Frank T. Foster, private Signal Corps. 

Nat. C. Gayle. Carpenter C. S. Navy. 

Leroy C. Godwin, private Signal Corps. 

Wm. R. Hanrahan, Sergeant Signal Corps. 

Samuel Hoffler, Ordnance Sergeant, Mahone's Brigade. 

Wm. L. Hatton, private Signal Corps. 

J. M. Hudgins, Captain and A. C. S. 



326 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Wm. H. Hughes, Lieutenant Lee Battery. 
John A. Lovitt, Gunner C. S. Navy. 
Richard B. Levy, private Signal Corps. 

E. Newton Mahoney, private Richmond Howitzers. 
Win. R. Minter, private Naval Brigade. 

F. M. Moore, private Signal Corps. 

Jos. T. Owens, Captain Co. D, 26th Va. Regiment. 

R. H. Parker, Assistant Surgeon 32d N. C. Regiment. 

0. J. Peters, private Signal Corps. 

Jas. Parrish, Surgeon Beale's Cavalry Brigade. 

Thos. Scott, private Signal Corps. 

T. J. Savage, private Signal Corps. 

0. V. Smith, 4th Corporal, 3d Company, Richmond Howitzers. 

G. S. Vermillion, private Signal Corps. 

Luther Williams, private Naval Brigade and Company K, 9th Virginia Reg- 
iment. 
T. H. Wingfield, Medical Inspector Army of Northern Virginia. 
Jas. H. White, private Signal Corps. 
E. M. Watts, Surgeon Simms' Brigade. 
C. M. Young, Sergeant Signal Corps. 

The following anecdote of General Robert E. Lee, which has 
perhaps not been in print before, shows how that great leader 
could preserve his cheerfulness even amid the confusion of disas- 
ter and defeat. It was the morning after the retreat began from 
Petersburg. Miss Jennie Riddick, of JSTansemond county, Vir- 
ginia, accompanied by Captain J. T. Griffin, of Norfolk county, 
and Rev. ~W. B. Wellons, a chaplain in the army, were in a cov- 
ered wagon searching for Miss Riddick's brother, who had been 
wounded a short time before and sent to a hospital. He was Cap- 
tain of Company C, 13th Yirginia Cavalry, and it was her inten- 
tion, if successful in finding him, to take him with her in the 
wagon to prevent him from falling into the hands of the enemy. 
Presently Generals Lee and Longstreet, accompanied by their re- 
spective staffs, rode up, and, being an acquaintance, General Lee 
spoke to Miss Riddick. She asked him the shortest route to 
North Carolina, and he told her that his intention was to try to 
get across the river and follow the line of the railroad, and ad- 
vised her to pursue the same route, then, happening to look into 
the wagon and noticing Captain Griffin and Rev. Mr. Wellons, 
and remembering that North Carolina was the Gretna Green for 
runaway couples from Virginia, a sly twinkle came into his eye 
as he remarked : " You needn't go there ; here are the preacher 
and the young man convenient, and you can get married right 
here," and calling to a member of his staff, he said : " Come here, 
Major, we are about to have a marriage." The marriage, how- 
ever, did not come off. Miss Riddick presented General Lee w T ith 
a handsome boquet, but he requested her to keep it for him. Mo- 
mentous events were following each other very rapidly then, and 
he never had an opportunity to call for the flowers. 



CHAPTER XLVIL 

THE FIRST IKON CLAD — THE " VIRGINIA" (mERRIMAC.) 

No subject of general interest connected with the late war has 
been more discussed than the Confederate iron-clad Virginia, for- 
merly the United States frigate Merrimac, and no two descrip- 
tions of her are said to agree. The author was in a position to know 
many facts connected with the origin of the vessel as an iron-clad, 
and, in addition to his own knowledge, has had access to the original 
drawings and specifications in the possession of her projector, and 
is therefore in a position to write advisedly, and, as the vessel was 
the result of the inventive genius of Portsmouth and Norfolk 
marine architects and the mechanical skill of Portsmouth and 
Norfolk workmen, it is appropriate that her full history and de- 
scription, together with the circumstances which led to her build- 
ing as an iron-clad, should be recorded in this work and fully es- 
tablished in the interest of history. 

In 1846 the United States Government decided to build, at 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, an iron steam sloop of war, the Alle- 
ghany, for the purpose of testing, on a large scale, a plan of sub- 
merged propellers, invented by Lieutenant W. ~W. Hunter, of the 
navy, and Mr. John L. Porter, of Portsmouth, was ordered there, 
as Acting Constructor in the navy, to superintend her building, 
and, while engaged upon this work, Mr. Porter conceived the 
idea of an iron-clad vessel which would be able to go to sea and 
still be shot-proof. His plan contemplated an iron vessel, to draw 
nineteen feet of water, and all of the vessel above the water line 
and to a depth of four feet below it, w as to be of a sufficient thick- 
ness of metal to render her shot-proof. His idea was that, with 
the ordnance in use at that time, three inches would be sufficiently 
thick for the armor if placed on an incline. 

Mr. Porter made copies of his plan and forwarded them' to the 
Navy Department at Washington, with the view of having the 
Government adopt them, but the times were not far enough ad- 
vanced for iron-clads, and the Navy Department took no further 
notice of them than to acknowledge their receipt, but Mr. Porter 
transferred them to his book of naval designs, which he retained 
and still has in his possession. The sides were inclined at an an- 
gle of 45 degrees, and the vessel was to have had a width, over all, 
of forty feet. The kunckle of the ship was to be two feet below 
the water line, and her gun deck three feet above that line. The 
gun deck extended the entire length of the ship, three feet above 
the water line, and the shield, in which her battery was located, 
was built in the middle of the ship. The ends beyond the shield 

327 



328 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

were constructed upon the same incline (as to their sides) as the 
shield, and the deck forward and aft of the shield, was protected 
with armor plate. The appearance of the vessel upon the water 
would have been similar to that of the Ericsson iron-clads of 1862, 
except that, instead of the sides of the vessel being perpendicular, 
they would have been inclined at an angle of 45 degrees, and in- 
stead of the upright turret amidship, there would have been the 
shield with inclined sides. The ports were to have been closed 
with wrought iron port shutters, and the resisting surface was to 
have been entirely of iron. Mr. Porter showed his plans to Lieu- 
tenant Hunter, who suggested as an improvement, an iron protec- 
tive deck, to be built below the gun deck, to prevent a plunging 
shot from going through her bottom, should it penetrate the shield. 
This was added, by Mr. Porter, to the drawings, before he for- 
warded them to Washington, and appears also in the drawings in 
his sketch book. It may be seen in the ' above plan, figure 1. 
This was ten years before England and France began thinking on 
the subject of iron-clads, and as far as Mr. Porter was concerned, 
was the result of his own ideas, without assistance from any one. 
The drawing in his sketch book is arranged with Lieutenant Hun- 
ter's propellers attached. Below will be found a cross section of 
his vessel, taken amidship : 




Figure 1- — Scale, 1-inch 15 feet. 

But, as has already been said, the Navy Department in 1846, 
was not impressed with the idea of an iron-clad vessel, and Mr. 
Porter retained his own copy of his plans, waiting an opportunity 
to put them into practical operation. That opportunity arrived 
at the breaking out of the war between the North and South, but 
the limited means of construction at the command of the South, 
compelled him to modify somewhat his original idea, and for want 
of rolling mills capable of rolling out broad iron plates, he was 
compelled to use narrow plates and fasten them on a backing of 
wood. 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MEBRIMAC.) 329 

Mr. Porter w a* a constructor in the United States Navy at the 
beginning of the war, and up to that time, had superintended for 
the Government the building of the Alleghany, Powhatan, Con- 
stellation, Colorado, Seminole, Pensacola and other vessels. Pie 
Avas stationed at the Gosport Navy Yard in April, 1861, and wit- 
nessed its destruction by the Federal authorities, resigned his com- 
mission in the United States Navy, tendered his services to Gov- 
ernor Letcher, and was retained on duty at the Navy Yard. Be- 
lieving that w T ar was inevitable, and knowing that the South was 
not able to cope with the United States upon the water, his mind 
reverted to the iron-clad which he had conceived in Pittsburg in 
1840, and he went to work, so modifying it, as to bring it within 
the power of the Southern Confederacy to build, and, at the same 
time, to adapt it to the defence of the harbors of the South. The 
result was a vessel, the hull of which could be built in a few 
months. He prepared his plans and specifications, made drawings 
of the vessel and had a model made at the Navy Yard. Virginia 
had not then transferred her army and effects to the Southern 
Confederacy. Below will be found a cross section of Mr. Porter's 
model of 1861. 



Ccf.?-^ JDeck. 



VS/csTfT 3,<n<L./ ^yVV ate y Z( n G. 




Figure 2 — Scale, 1 inch 15 feet. 

At that time Commodore Marshall Parks, President of the Al- 
bemarle and Chesapeake Canal Company, had been appointed by 
the State of North Carolina, to act in conjunction with Comman- 
der Muse (formerly of the United States Navy), as commissioner 
to purchase and fit out vessels for the North Carolina Navy, to 
protect the waters of Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, and, visiting 
the Gosport Navy Yard upon business connected with his office, 
was shown this model by Mr. Porter, and was so impressed with 
it that he went to Raleigh and informed the Governor and mem- 
bers of the Legislature of the plan, and suggested that some small 
iron clads be built for the defense of the North Caaolina sounds. 
He was directed to prepare a " Bill " to authorize the Governor 
to have some vessels built on the plan, and it was passed immedi- 
ately. The State of North Carolina, soon after this, decided to 
join the Confederacy, and Commodore Parks .was directed to go 

22 



330 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

to Richmond and turn over all the steamers he had purchased and 
fitted out, to the Confederate States Navy Department, and there- 
fore the iron-clads were not built. Virginia also joined the South- 
ern Confederacy, and Mr. Porter received an appointment as Con- 
structor in the Confederate States Navy. 

The shield, which was on his Pittsburg model of 1846, is re- 
tained, but, while that vessel was designed for sea service as well 
as for harbor defense, his new model was designed for harbor de- 
fense mainly, and would not have been a good sea boat in rough 
"weather. The original drawings are in the possession of the 
author. The vessel was to have been one hundred and fifty feet 
long on deck and one hundred and forty-four feet on the keel ; 
was forty feet beam at the knuckle and thirty-three feet across the 
bottom amidships. She was to have been built sharp at the bow 
and with flat bottom. Her draft of water was eleven feet, and 
she was fitted with a nine foot propeller. Her knuckle was nine 
feet perpendicular from the bottom of her keel and her water line 
was two feet above her knuckle,, so that the eaves of the vessel 
were submerged two feet below the water line. The shield cov- 
ered the entire length of the vessel, was arranged at an angle of 
forty degrees, and was made circular at each end. The shield 
was to have had a thickness of wood and iron, of two and a-half 
feet, and the ends of the iron, or in other words, the eaves or 
knuckle of the ship, were to be two feet below the water line, just 
as he had plannecf in his Pittsburg ship. The armament was to 
consist of six 11-inch smooth bore guns, four broadside and one at 
each end. The end guns were to be pivot guns and have a range 
out of three port holes, and the broadside guns were on pivots also, 
and could fire out of each side. While the bow of the vessel was to 
be sharp, there was sufficient flare in her nine feet of depth from 
keel to knuckle, to take in the circular end of the shield. Mr. 
Porter's Pittsburg model was built with sides inclined at an angle 
of forty-five degrees, but the angle of inclination of this vessel 
was forty degrees. Mr. Porter made this change because the ord- 
nance in use in 1861 was heavier than that of 1846, and the lower 
the angle of resistance the greater the ability to resist. With a 
good engine she would have made seven or eight miles an hour. 

Mr. Mallory, Secretary of the Confederate States Navy, called 
the attention of the House Committee on Naval Affairs to the 
subject of iron-clads before the seat of government was removed 
from Montgomery to Richmond. England and France were then 
experimenting on the subject, and Mr. Mallory thought it would 
be desirable for the Southern Confederacy to own one or more of 
a sea-going character, but an effort to purchase two such vessels 
in Europe failed, and nothing of a practical character was done. 
On the 22d of June, 1861, Naval Constructor Porter received or- 
ders to report to the Navy Department at Richmond. The or- 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 331 

ders did not state the object for which he was to report, but he 
took advantage of the occasion to cany his model to Richmond 
for the purpose of submitting it to the Secretary. This was the 
model he had previously shown to Commodore Parks, and which 
has just been described. He went to Richmond June 23d (Sun- 
day), called at the Secretary's office the next day, and showed him 
his model. The Secretary immediately ordered a board consist- 
ing of Mr. Porter, Chief Engineer Williamson and Lieutenant 
Brooke to consider it. Messrs. Williamson and Brooke were at 
that time in Richmond. 

Thus far, in this account, the author has been writing of what 
passed within his own personal knowledge, but was not at the 
meeting of the board, and as to what took place there must rely 
upon the statements of the members of the board, for only those 
three gentlemen were present and no one but them could speak 
advisedly of its proceedings. The board met on the 25th of 
June, the day after Secretary Mallory ordered it to assemble, and 
Mr. Porter's model, which had been in the Secretary's office since 
the preceding morning, was submitted to it, and, according to the 
statements of Messrs. Williamson and Porter, there was nothing 
before the board or considered by it except that model. The 
board decided to recommend the building of a vessel after that 
plan, and, preparatory to making their report, began discussing 
the length of time it would take to complete her. Mr. William- 
son remarked, " It will take at least twelve months to build her 
engines unless we can utilize some of the machinery in the Mer- 
rimac." Mr. Porter asked, "Why can't you use it all? I can 
adapt this model to the Merrimac and utilize her machinery in 
her." Mr. Williamson replied, " I can." It was therefore de- 
cided at once to recommend that the Merrimac be converted into 
an iron-clad. Neither of the members of the board seems to have 
had any idea of making an iron-clad of that vessel previous to 
their assembling. Messrs. Williamson and Porter say the board 
was ordered to meet to consider Mr. Porter's model, and this 
statement is borne out by Mr. Brooke's testimony before the Con- 
gressional investigating committee in February, 1863. Mr. 
Brooke says : " The Secretary directed Constructor Porter, Chief 
Engineer Williamson and myself to meet him in my office here, 
and this model was examined by us all and the form of the shield 
adopted." 

Up to that time Mr. Porter was the only member of the board 
who knew the condition of the Merrimac or how much of her 
was left. Mr. Brooke had not seen her since the destruction of 
the Gosport Navy Yard, when she was burned to the water's 
edge. She had been raised by the Baker Wrecking Company on 
the 30th of May, and Mr. Porter, as Constructor at the Navy 
Yard, had her put in the dry-dock and made a thorough examina- 



332 NORFOLK COUNTY, ISO 1-5. 

tion of her. Mr. Williamson's duties were not such as to famil- 
iarize him with the condition of the vessel, so there is every rea- 
son to believe their version is correct, and that it was Mr. Porter 
who suggested that his shield be placed on the Merrimac. Mr. 
Brooke says Mr. Williamson first made the suggestion. 

But, having come to the conclusion to adapt Mr. Porter's model 
to the Merrimac, the board prepared the following report, which 
they submitted to Secretary Mallory for his approval : 

Navy Department, \ 

Richmond, Va., June 25th, 1861. \ 

Sir — In obedience to your order we have carefully examined 
and considered the various plans and propositions for constructing 
a shoot proof steam battery, and respectfully report that, in our 
opinion, the steam frigate Merrimac, which is in such condition 
from the effects of fire as to be useless for any other purpose 
without incurring a heavy expense in her rebuilding, can be made 
an efficient vessel of that character, mounting ten heavy guns ; 
two pivot guns, and eight broadside guns of her original battery, 
and for the further consideration, that we cannot procure a suita- 
ble engine and boilers for any other vessel without building them, 
which would occupy too much time, is would appear that this is 
our only chance to get a suitable vessel in a short time. The bot- 
tom of the hull, boilers and heavy and costly parts of the engine, 
being but little injured, reduce the cost of construction to about 
one-third the amount which would be required to construct such 
a vessel anew. We cannot, without further examination, make 
an accurate estimate of the cost of the projected work, but think 
it will be about one hundred and ten thousand dollars, the most 
of which will be for labor, the materials being nearly all on hand 
in the yard, except the iron plating to cover the shield. The plan 
to be adopted in the arrangement of her shield for glancing shots, 
mounting guns, arranging the hull and plating, to be in accord- 
ance with the plans submitted for the approval of the depart- 
ment. 

[Signed] Wm. P. Williamson, 

Chief Engineer. 
John M. Brooke, 

Lieutenant. 
John L. Porter, 

Naval Constructor. 

When it is considered that Mr. Brooke had not seen the Merrr 
mac nor the Navy Yard since the beginning of hostilities, that the 
Naval Constructor was the only member of the board who knew 
that what was left of the vessel w T ould carry a shield large enough 
to cover ten guns, or how much it would cost to make the altera- 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 333 

tions in her hull, and that Chief Engineer Williamson was an ex- 
pert upon the cost of machinery, it would be reasonable to sup- 
pose that the constructor and engineer prepared the report, and 
that the other member of the board signed it through confidence 
in their judgment. In fact Secretary Mallory took this view of 
it at the time. On the 18th of July, 1861, he submitted a report 
to the Confederate Congress, in which he said : " The cost of 
this work is estimated by the constructor and engineer in charge 
at $172,523, and as time is of the first consequence in this enter- 
prise, I have not hesitated to commence the work, and to ask 
Congress for the necessary appropriation." Mr. Mallory totally 
ignored " the board," and took into consideration only the views 
of the constructor and engineer. He seems, at that time, not to 
have considered Mr. Brooke at all, not even in connection witli 
the cost of her ordnance. 

The report of the board speaks of having considered the vari- 
ous plans and propositions for constructing an iron-clad, &c. 
Messrs. Williamson and Porter say this had reference to whether 
they would recommend the building of a new vessel after Mr. 
Porter's model or apply his plan to the Merrimac. " The plans to 
be adopted in the arrangement of her shield for glancing shots, 
mounting guns, arranging the hull and plating," were not submit- 
ted simultaneously with the report, as it was necessary for Mr. 
Porter to return to the Gosport Navy Yard and make an accurate 
measurement of the vessel, so that he could calculate her displace- 
ment and prepare the plans. Engineer Williamson also went to 
the Navy Yard to superintend the preparation of the machinery, 
and Mr. Brooke remained in Richmond. Mr. Porter measured 
the vessel without assistance from any one, except a laborer to 
hold the end of the tape line. 

Having completed his measurements, and calculated for every- 
thing which was to go in her, he found that he would have suffi- 
cient displacement and about fifty tons to spare, upon a depth of 
twenty-one feet, of which nineteen feet would be of her original 
hull and the remaining two feet would be the distance he proposed 
submerging the eaves of her shield, but when he drew a line at 
the height of nineteen feet from the bottom of her keel, he found 
it cut one foot into her propeller, and this would have decreased 
the size of her propeller and diminished her speed, besides con- 
suming time in additional work. He therefore raised the line one 
foot at the stern and cut her clown on a straight line running from 
a height of nineteen feet forward to twenty feet aft, so that, when 
completed, she drew twenty-one feet forward and twenty -two feet 
aft. This additional displacement increased her buoyancy about 
two hundred tons and had to be overcome by pig iron, or kent- 
lege, which was placed on her deck ends and in her spirit room 
to l»ring her eaves to the proper depth below the water line. 



334 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

Mr. Porter drew the plans for converting her into an iron-clad, 
and put on her the identical shield which was on his model, and 
also on his Pittsburg iron- clad of 1846, with the exception that he 
lengthened it out to nearly one hundred and eighty feet, so as to 
cover all of her deck where there was sufficient width for the 
shield, and, as he had a width of fifty-one feet on the Merrimac, 
he lowered the angle of inclination of her shield to thirty-five de- 
grees. The great width of the ship enabled him to do this and 
still have room under the shield to work the guns. This width 
also made it necessary to have separate guns for each side. Find- 
ing too, that he had displacement enough to support a heavier 
armor, he recommended that she be plated with four inches of 
iron instead of three inches, as originally intended. This recom- 
mendation was approved by Secretary Mai lory, and was carried 
out in her construction. The arrangment of her shield, inside and 
out, was identical with the plan proposed in the vessel the model 
of which he carried to Richmond, and which the board was called 
to consider. The original drawings of both vessels are in the pos- 
session of the author, and they are identical, except that one was 
arranged for six guns and the other for ten. The port holes were 
about four feet high, with straight sides and circular at the top 
and bottom. She had no boat davits. Her boats rested in chocks 
on her sides and were hauled out of the water. 

Mr. Porter completed his drawings on the 10th of July, with- 
out having consulted any one, took them to Richmond the next 
morning, and submitted them to Secretary Mallory, who immedi- 
ately approved them, without re-convening the board or calling in 
the advice or opinion of anyone, and wrote with his own hand, 
the following order, which he handed to Mr. Porter for delivery 
to Commodore Forrest, commanding the Gosport Navy Yard : 

Navy Department, 

Richmond, Va., July 11th, 1861. 

Flag Officer F. Forrest : 

Sie — You will proceed with all practicable dispatch to make 
the changes in the Merrimac, and to build, equip and fit her in all 
respects, according to the designs and plans of the Constructor 
and Engineer, Messrs. Porter and Williamson. As time is of 
the utmost importance in this matter, you will see that the work 
progresses without delay to completion. 

S. R. Mallory, 
Secretary Confederate States Wavy. 

Did Mr. Mallory, at the time he issued that order to begin work 
on the vessel, have any doubts as to whose plans he had approved 
and was ordering to be carried out ? Mr. Porter returned imme- 
diately to the Gosport Navy Yard, appointed Mr. James Meads 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 335 

Master Ship carpenter,and commenced work on the vessel in the 
dry-dock. The burned part was cut away, and a deck built from 
one end to the other. Inside the shield the deck was covered 
with plank, on beams, but outside the shield, at both ends, it was 
built of solid timber, and covered over with iron one-inch thick. 
Figure 3 represents the shape of a cross section amidship. 




Figure 3 — Scale 1 inch 15 feet. 

The ship had only two decks, gun and berth decks, and her 
boilers and engine remained in their original positions. She was 
fitted with four inch, hammered iron, port shutters on her four 
quarter ports, but had no shutters to her other ports. They were 
made in two pieces and closed like a pair of shears. She made 
her first fight, however, before they were put on her. Her rud- 
der i chains were let into the outside after deck flush under the 
iron, and passed up through the shield in pipes until they came 
above the water line and were then conducted on rollers to the 
steering wheel. The ship was 262 feet and 9 inches long from 
her stem to the after side of the stern post, and from the stem to 
the forward part of the shield was 29 feet, 6 inches. From the 
tiller to the after part of the shield was 55 feet, and the length of 
the shield was ITS feet, 3 inches. The neat length on the gun 
deck, under the shield, was 167 feet, 7 inches. The rafters of the 
shield were of yellow pine fourteen inches thick, and were bolted 
together and were placed at an inclination of thirty-five degrees. 
Outside of this, a course of four-inch pine planks was fastened, 
fore and aft, and outside of this there was a course of four-inch 
oak plank placed up and down. All three of these courses of 
timber were caulked. Upon the outside of the oak planks was 
placed a course of rolled iron bars, eight inches wide and two 
inches thick, running fore and aft, and upon this was another 
course of similar iron, running up and down, the whole securely 



336 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

bolted, through and through, and held with nuts on the inside. 
The length of the sides was twenty-four feet, and the perpendicu- 
lar thickness was twenty-two inches of wood and four inches of 
iron, but horizontally, it was about four feet. The deck, or top- 
of the shield, was fourteen feet wide and was protected by an iron 
grating made of two inch square iron with meshes two inches 
square. The pitch of the gun deck was seven feet. There were 
three hatchways in the top grating, with pivot shutters. In the 
original drawings of the ship it was con templated to build a pilot 
house at the forward part of the shield, to be covered like the 
shield, but Mr. Porter subsequently had two cast iron conical 
shaped pilot houses made and put one at each end. These were 
cast hollow in the middle and about twelve inches thick, with four 
loop holes for observations. They were not used by Commodore 
Buchanan during the engagement in Hampton Roads. He stood 
in one of the hatchways above referred to and communicated his 
orders to the wheelsman from that position. As the work pro- 
gressed, Secretary Mallory became very urgent for its speedy 
conclusion, and on the 19th of August, a little more than a month 
after it was begun, he wrote the following order : 

Confederate States Navy Department. ) 

Richmond, August 19th, 1861. \ 

Flag Officer F. Forrest, Commanding Nary Yard, Oosport : 

Sir. — The great importance of the service expected of the Mer- 
rimac, and the urgent necessity of her speedy completion, in- 
duces me to call upon you to push forward the work with the ut- 
most dispatch. Chief Engineer Williamson and Constructor 
Porter, severally in charge of the two branches of this great 
work, und for which they will he held personally responsible, will 
receive therefore every possible facility at the expense and delay 
of every other work on hand if necessary. 

S. R. Mallory, 

Secretary Confederate States Wavy. 

In order to protect her rudder and propeller from being rim 
into, Mr. Porter built a heavy, solid deck, or fan tail, extending 
over them, and it would have been necessary to have broken 
through this before either of them could have been reached by a 
colliding vessel. He had a cast iron prow, or beak, made, which 
weighed about 1,500 pounds. This he fastened on her stem 
and bolted through it, but the ship struck the Cumberland 
a glancing blow and it was broken off. When the beak was put 
on her Mr. Porter was apprehensive that, as the ship was not 
built originally with a view to making a ram of her, it would not 
be safe to do so, but Captain Buchanan decided to take the risk, 
and sunk the Cumberland without materially injuring his own 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 



337 



vessel. As a safeguard to protect the hull, a course of iron one 
inch thick was fastened all around her, three feet down from the 
knuckle. Her armament consisted of two 7-inch rifle guns, on 
pivot, one at each end, with a range out of three port holes, and 
eight smooth bore 9-inch Dahlgren guns of her original battery. 
The 7-inch rifle guns were made at the Tredegar Iron Works in 
Richmond under the supervision of Lieutenant Brooke. The ar- 
mor plate was rolled there also. The gun carriages were made 
in the Navy Yard. In the engagements on the 8th and 9th of 
March two of her broadside guns were injured by having pieces 
knocked out at their muzzles, and they were replaced by two 6- 
inch rifle guns made at the Tredegar Works. Some of the offi- 
cers of the vessel have informed the author that they were of the 
opinion that the two 6-inch rifle guns were on hoard during her 
first engagement, but others, and members of the crew, with 
whom he has conversed coincide with his account. Naval Con- 
structor Porter's notes say the recommendation of the board was 
carried out, as to her battery, and that the eight broadside guns 
were 9-inch Dahlgrens. The reports of the commanders of the 
Federal vessels engaged in the battle of March 8th, 1862, mention 
the 7-inch rifle and 9-inch smooth bore guns, but make no men- 
tion of any 6-inch rifles. Captain Yan Brunt of the Minnesota 
speaks of the mainmast of that vessel having been struck by a 
6-inch rifle shell from the battery at Seawell's Point. 

The work on the Merrimac was hastened with all possible dis- 
patch, and the workmen employed on her evinced a very patriotic 
spirit. She was a novel kind of a vessel, and they felt a pride in 
her as the invention of a Portsmouth man, and a desire to see 
how she would perform the duty expected of her, and, in order 
to expedite the work, the blacksmiths, machinists and bolt drivers 
signed a voluntary proposition to work until 8 o'clock every night 



without extra pay. 
paper : 

Jas. A. Farmer, M. S. 
John Askew, 
Wm. T. Butt, 
Thos. Bloxom, 
Anthony Butt, 
Thos. Bourke, 
Elias Bridges, 
E. H. Brown, 
Wm. Grav, 
Thos. Guy, 
Smith Guy, 
Anderson Gwinn, 
Ilillery Hopkins, 
Wm. Homer, 



The following names were 



signed 



to the 



Samuel Hodges, 
Wiley Howard, 
Jos. Rickets, 
IT. Reynolds, 
Southey Pew, 
Wm. Reynolds, 
John B. Rooke, 
John Rhea, 
Thos. L. Rooke, 
Harvey Barnes, 
Frederick Bowen, 
Geo. G. Bear, 
John Cain, 
Michael Connor, 



John Curran, 
Geo. Collier, 
Sam'l. Davenport, 
John Davis, 
Alex. Davis, 
Joshua Dailey, 
Thos. Dunn, 
Lewis Ewell, 
Lawson Etheredge, 
Miles Foreman, 
Thos. Franklin, 
Jas. Fleming, 
Wilson Guy, 
John Green, 



338 



NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 



Lawrence Herbert, 
Henry Hopkins, 
Opie Jordan, 
Wm. Jones, 
Thos. Kirby, 
Jesse Kay, 
Jas. Larkin, 
Lemuel Leary, 
Wm. Leary, 
Hugh M inter, 
Jas. Mitchell, 
John Moody, 
Julius Moran, 



II . Tatem, 
Walter Thornton, 
John West, 
Jas. Wakefield, 
E. Woodward, 
David Wilkins, 
Jas. Wilbern, 
Walter Wilkins, 
Jas. Watson, Jr., 
Jos. West, 
John Wilder, 
Edward Walker. 



James Moran, 

Patrick Parks, 

Jas. Pattison, 

Wm. Perry, 

Thos. Powell, 

Wm. Pebworth, 

Chas. Snead, 

Patrick Shanasy, 

Wm. Shepherd, 

John Stokes, 

Chas. Sturtevant, 

Wm. Shipp, 

Calder Sherwood, 
Various were the comments by visitors and others at the Navy 
Yard while the ship was in process of construction, and the pre- 
vailing o|)inion seemed to be that she was top heavy and would 
turn bottom up, and many spoke of Mr. Porter as a visionary. 
He says that, among the officers stationed at the yard or ordered 
to the ship, only one, Captain Fairfax, gave him any encourage- 
ment, and when she was completed, and he reported to Captain 
S. S. Lee, executive officer of the yard, that he would turn the 
water into the dock the next day and float her. Captain Lee 
asked him, seriously : " Mr. Porter, do you really think she will 
float ? " and the next morning, when the water was actually turned 
into the dock, the officers present, who were ordered to her, stood 
upon the edge of the dock to see whether or not she was going to 
sink. Mr. Porter says Lieutenant Catesby Jones, who was or- 
dered to her as executive officer a short time before she was com- 
pleted, was among those who expressed a want of faith in her 
ability to float. 

After her engagements on the 8th and 9th of March, 1862, she 
returned to the Navy Yard and Mr. Porter put her in the dry- 
dock and made a thorough examination of her. There were 
about a hundred indentations in her armor where she was struck, 
and of these about twenty w T ere from the guns of the Monitor. 
These could be told from the others by their larger size. Six of 
the outer plates were cracked and were replaced by new ones. 
None of the plates in the under course were broken, nor were any 
of her timbers injured. No repairs were necessary to be done to 
them. The broken plates were occasioned by shots from the 
Monitor. There were numerous shot holes through her smoke 
stack, which, however, was not carried away. Her iron beak, or 
prow, was broken off. This was originally made wedge shaped, 
projected about two feet from the ship, and was slanting on top. 
A new beak was made to replace this. It was made of steel and 
wrought iron, extended back about thirteen feet from the stem, 
and was securely bolted. The two damaged broadside guns were 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 339 

replaced by two 6-inch rifle guns, steel pointed solid shot were 
made for her guns, and her sides, for three feet below her knuckle, 
were covered with an additional course of two-inch iron plates 
placed up and down, and the top end clasped over the knuckle, 
to prevent the starting of the ends of the side armor on the shield 
from the effects of shot. This additional weight was neutralized 
by removing a portion of the pig iron which had been placed on 
her originally, so that her depth of water remained the same as 
when she made her trip to Hampton Roads on the 8th of March. 

Various statements have been published, both from Confeder- 
ate and Federal sources, as to the injury done the vessel in her 
engagements in Hampton Roads, but the above embraces all the 
injury she actually sustained. There was an almost imperceptible 
leak in her bow where her prow was broken in ramming the Cum- 
berland, but it really amounted to nothing. Captain S. S. Lee, 
in his testimony before the Congressional committee appointed to 
investigate the Navy Department, page 231, says : " She was not 
severely damaged at all. She was not materialby injured. 1 ' The 
repairs were made by Constructor Porter under Captain Lee's su- 
pervision, and Mr. Porter's notes say that none of her wooden 
backing was broken, that none of her second course of iron was 
broken or removed, that none of her first course of iron was 
knocked off, and only six of those plates were broken. 

A most inaccurate account of the Virginia was written by 
Lieutenant Catesby Jones and published in the Southern Histori- 
cal Society Papers, Nos. 2-3, Vol. XI, pp. 65-76. It is unfortu- 
nate that so many errors should go forth to the world as history. 
Among other mistakes, he says : 

First. — "Her rudder and propellor were unprotected." The 
facts are that the fan tail of solid timber which was built out over 
them made them safer than any other portion of the vessel, out- 
side her shield, and a blow which would have cut through to her 
propellor would have crushed in the side of the ship. 

Second. — He says "there were many vexatious delays attend- 
ing the fitting of the ship. Many of them arose from the want of 
skilled labor," &c. The mechanics of Portsmouth and Norfolk 
will hardly accept that as correct. 

Third. — He says he, " by special order, selected her battery." 
How could he have done this when her rifle guns were made at 
the Tredegar Works in Richmond under the supervision of Lieu- 
tenant Brooke, and her broadside guns were at the Navy Yard? 
Her battery had been selected by the board which recommended 
her conversion into an iron-clad, and was specified in their report 
of June 25th, 1861, which was approved by Secretary Mallory. 

Fourth. — He says " The lower part of her shield forward was 
immersed only a few inches instead of two feet, as was intended." 
It was two feet under water, covered with kentlege, which was 
also under water. 



340 



NORFOLK county, 1801 ... 



Fifth, lie says "had the Are of the Minnesota, Cumberland 

illlil ( \»ii";ir:.:'. Keen CO] ICl 'I I I nil e< I Oil tllC Willel line W'e Would ha\e 

been ser sly linrt." The vessel was as strong al the water line 

as she was anywhere else Her shield ran down into the water a 
distance of three (''eel and a half below the water lino, 

Sixth, II o says "the loss of our prow and anchor, and con 
sumption of coal, water, tfcc, had lightened ns so that the lower 
pari of the forward end of the shield was awash." Had he been 
correal in this the how of the ship would have been out of the 
iciih , i\ and bo have lightened her bo that extent would have re 
enured the removal "I two hundrod and seventy five tons of ma- 
terial from her in the twenty lour hours she was in Hampton 
lioads, Every inch, in depth, of displacement on her shield was 
equal to twenty three tons, and every inch of her hull, below her 
shield, was oquivalonl to I hirty tons, 

Captain John Taylor Wood, who served gallantly on her as a 
Lieutenanl and afterwards made an enviable record for himself 
by his deeds of daring in the Confederate Navy, was the author 
hi an equally inaccurate description of the ship, 1 1 was published 
in i he < 'fill nry Maga line of March. L885, 

He seems to have accepted Lieutenanl Jones 1 aecounl as to the 
vulnerability of the vessel ai the water line, and the "unpro 
tooted" condition of her rudder and propollor, adopts his mistake 
as to her drawing 28 feel oi wain-, fall:, into an error aboul her 
pilot house, gives her one more deal* than she had, carried away 
her smokestack in the action of IViaroh 9th, and says ! "When the 

ship was in lighting trim both end:; were awash." Mad Ibis been 

so hur draft would have been only nineteen feet forward and 
twenty aft, and hor eaves would have been oven with the water. 
In reality, however, her end:, and eaves were two feel below the 
water line. 

The positions occupied by those two gentlemen, and their well 
known characters, add weighl bo their publications, hence it is 
unfortunate, for the correctness of history, thai their articles were 
nei given mere careful study before publication. 

But the Virginia proved a suooess, and though, while her sue 

Or failure was a mailer of doubt, HO name w as eonneel ed with 

I ier authorship except Messrs. Porter and Williamson; though 

the Secretary in his order to Com dore Forrest, directed him to 

convert into an iron-clad abler the plans of Messrs. Porter and 
Williamson, though in another order to Commodore Forrest he 

proposed lo bold tllOS6 I w o vvnl lenien personally responsible for 

the success of their plans, though in an official reporl bo Congress 

lie referred to llieni alone in eonneelion wit 1 1 the estimated COSt 

of the vessel, though up to thai time no name bu1 theirs, had been 
mentioned in otlloial orders from the Naw Departmens, in the 

public pi'OSS or In private conversation, yet, when she had demon 



77//',' • I IROJNIA" {MERRTMAC.) .'M I 

i ir;iic<l Ik t ability to float and to rei i I the i lioti of the enemy, a 
now claimant appeared for tJio credit o! having projected bei 
The claim wa made in an anonymous communication igned 
"Justice," which appeared in I he column of the Richmond En 
quirer and Richmond Whig of aboul the 25th of March, 1862, 
claiming for Lieutenant Brooki that credit, \.t was subsequently 
ascei l;ained I hai I he communical iom .• a i eni to those paper b 
an employee in Mi Brooke'i office in the Navy Department, 

On the 20th of March Mr, Porter wrote a t'eply, which he sub 
mitted to Chief Engineer Williamson for his approval, and then 
forwarded to the Richmond Examiner, in which paperil wai pub« 
li hod. tie i aid in concluding his letter ! 

" Of the greal and skillful, calulations of the displacement and 

lij of timber and iron involved in the planning and con trm 

lion of this great piece of naval architecture, and of her pn i til 

■ i ight, with '-very i liiii" on board no other man than myself has, 

■ ,i evei had an) I nov I' dge, If h& Iujm^ let h/l/m show ii. for while 

public opinion said she never would float, no one save myself 

knew to the contrary, or whal hi va capable of bearing Aiter 

the Merrimac was in progre some time, Lieutenant Brooke was 

con f;mil, proposing alteration in hei to the Secretary of the 

Navy, and a constantly and firmly opposed by myself, wbieb the 

tary knowi To Engineer Williamson, who had the e elu 

i control of the machinery, greal credit i due for having so 
improved the propeller and engine ai to improvi th< speed of 
the ship three knots per hour. I never thought for a moment 
that, after the many difficulties I had to encounter in mal ing these 
now and intricate arrangemenl for the working of this novel kind 
of i hip, that any one would try to rob me of my ju t merits, for, 
if there wa any other man than myself who nad any respon i 
bility aboul her ncce or failure, I nevei I new it (< cepl so far 
a the working of her machinery va concerned, for which Chief 
Engineer Williamson wai alone responsible.) 

.Ion:; I,. 1'ori RR, 

(J. A. N . ( 'mi. 1 1 'uotof 

Thi letter was submitted to Chief Engineer Williamson and 
approved by him before it was sent to the Examiner for publica 
lion, and Lieutenant Brooke failed to make any reply to it or to 
acci pi the challenge contained in it, to prove his authorship 

There seem to oe some doubl ai to what M i Brooke r< 
claim in conm cl ion w ith the vi el, but hi ti I imony b< fori I hi 
Congn ional tnvi tigating Committee, admitting thai bin board 
adopted Mr, Portei hi< Id and tating thai Mr, Williamson pro 
posed putting the shield on the Merrimac, would indicate that he 
had abandoned all claim ai the projector of that portion oi the 
- 1 and confined himself to the ubmerged projecting end fea 



342 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

ture, and, though the author has personal knowledge of the fact 
that the plan of the shield of Mr. John L. Porter's iron-clad of 
1846, and that of his model of 1861, which he carried to Rich- 
mond, and the shield of the Merrimac were identical, and were 
submerged two feet at their eaves, and that he conceived the idea 
and developed it in the drawings and specifications of a vessel, 
(which drawings are to this clay in his possession), fifteen years 
before he ever saw Lieutenant Brooke, and, that he was at the 
Gosport Navy Yard when he made the drawings applying that 
shield to the Merrimac, while Lieutenant Brooke was in Rich- 
mond ; that, in the conception and development of the plan, he 
was not aided by any ideas which may have been entertained by 
that gentleman, still as a historian, he has no inclination to sup- 
press anything which Lieutenant Brooke has been able to advance 
in support of his claim. The main stay of support which he has, 
is a report made by Secretary Mallory to the Confederate Con- 
gress. That report was dated March 29th, 1862, but was not made 
public until April 4th, when it appeared in the Richmond press. 
In that report Mr. Mallory says : 

" On the 10th of June, 1861, Lieutenant Brooke was directed 
to aid the department in designing an iron-clad war vessel, and 
framing the necessary specifications, and, in a few days, submitted 
to the department rough drawings of a casemated vessel with sub- 
merged ends and inclined plated sides, the ends of the vessel and 
the eaves, to be submerged two feet, and a light bulwark, or false 
bow was designed to divide the water and prevent it from bank- 
ing up on the forward part of the shield with the vessel in motion, 
and also to serve as a tank to regulate the ship's draft. His de- 
sign was approved by the department, and a practical mechanic 
was brought from Norfolk to aid in preparing the drawings and 
specifications. 

" This mechanic aided in the statement of details of timber, etc., 
but was unable to make the drawings, and the department then 
ordered Chief Engineer Williamson and Constructor Porter from 
the Navy Yard at Norfolk, to Richmond, about the 23d of June, 
for consultation on the same subject generally and to aid in the 
work. 

" Constructor Porter brought and submitted the model of a flat 
bottomed, light draft propeller, casemated battery, with inclined 
iron covered sides and ends, which he deposited in the depart- 
ment. Mr. Porter and Lieutenant Brooke have adopted for their 
casemate a thickness of wood and iron, and an angle of inclination 
nearly identical. 

" Mr. Williamson and Mr. Porter approved of the plan of hav- 
ing submerged ends to obtain the requisite flotation and invulner- 
ability, and the department adopted the design, and a clean draw- 
ing was prepared by Mr. Porter of Lieutenant Brooke's plan, 
which that officer then filed with the department. 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 343 

" The steam frigate Merrimac was burned and sunk, and her 
engines greatly damaged by the enemy, and the department di- 
rected Mr. Williamson, Lieutenant Brooke and Mr. Porter to con- 
sider and report upon the best mode of making her useful. The 
result of their investigation was their recommendation of the sub- 
merged ends and the inclined casemates for this vessel, which was 
adopted by the department." 

The following is the report upon the Merrimac. [See ante.] 

"Immediately upon the adoption of the plan, Mr. Porter was di- 
rected to proceed with the constructor's duties. Mr. Williamson 
was charged with the engineer's department, and to Mr. Brooke 
avhs assigned the duties of attending to and preparing the iron and 
forwarding it from the Tredegar Works, the experiments neces- 
sary to test the plates and to determine their thickness, and devis- 
ing heavy rifled ordnance for the ship, with the details pertaining 
to ordnance. 

"These gentlemen labored zealously and effectively in their sev- 
eral departments. Mr. Porter cut the ship down, submerged her 
ends, performed all the duties of constructor, and originated all of 
the interior arrangements by which space was economized and he 
has exhibited energy, ability and ingenuity. Mr. Williamson 
thoroughly overhauled her engines, supplied deficiencies, and re- 
paired defects, and improved greatly the motive power of the 
vessel. 

" Mr. Brooke attended daily to the iron, constructed targets, as- 
certained by actual tests, the resistance offered by inclined planes 
of iron to heavy ordnance, and determined interesting and impor- 
tant facts in connection therewith, and which were of great im- 
portance in the construction of the ship ; devised and prepared 
the models and drawings of the ship's heavy ordnance, being guns 
of a class never before made, and of extraordinary power and 
strength. 

" The novel plan of submerging the ends of the ship and the 
eaves of the casemate, however, is the peculiar and distinctive fea- 
ture of the Virginia. It was never before adopted. * * * * 
We were without accurate data and were compelled to determine 
the inclination of the plates and their thickness and form by ac- 
tual experiment. The department has freely consulted the three 
excellent officers referred to throughout the labors on the Vir- 
ginia, and they have all exhibited signal ability, energy and zeal." 

This report of Secretary Mallory was made from his recollec- 
tions of what took place nearly a year before. How he obtained 
his information of what took place in the meeting of the board of 
June 25th, 1861, does not appear, nor does it coincide with the 
recollections of Mr. Williamson and Mr. Porter, or with the re- 
port made by the board, or the orders of the Secretary himself to 
proceed with the work. Memory is not always reliable after a 
lapse of time. 



344 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

First. — After speaking of Mr. Brooke's efforts to design an iron 
clad and his failure to accomplish anything, even after a practical 
mechanic had been sent from the Navy Yard to assist him, he 
says : " The department ordered Chief Engineer Williamson and 
Constructor Porter from the Navy Yard at Norfolk, to Rich- 
mond, about the 23d of June, (1861), for consultation on the same 
subject generally and to aid in the work. 1 ' 

It is unfortunate that that order was not found. Messrs. 
Porter and Williamson denied that they were summoned to con- 
fer about any plans of Lieutenant Brooke, and the order could 
have determined the matter if it was among the Navy Depart- 
ment records. It was not produced. The 23d of June, 18(31, 
was Sunday, and the Department was not "open for business" on 
that day. 

Second. — The Secretary says : " Constructor Porter brought 
and submitted the model of a flat-bottomed, light draft, propeller, 
casemated battery, with inclined iron-covered sides and ends, 
which he deposited in the Department. Mr. Porter and Lieu- 
tenant Brooke have adopted for their casemate a thickness of 
wood and iron, and an angle of inclination almost identical." 

Hence, from the Secretary's recollection of Mr. Brooke's ?*ough 
drawings they were similar to Mr. Porter's model, then in his 
office, as to the shield of the vessel. Mr. Porter's model was tan- 
gible and practical, Mr. Brooke's " rough drawings " were ideal 
and imaginative. Can any one draw from this a conclusion that 
the board directed that the Merrimac be changed into an iron- 
clad after the rough drawings of Mr. Brooke and not the matured 
model of Mr. Porter. 

Third. — The Secretary says : " Mr. Porter originated all of the 
interior arrangements, by which space has been economized, and 
has exhibited energy, ability and ingenuity." 

It seems, therefore, even from the recollections of Secretary 
Mallory, that Mr. Porter not only carried to Richmond with him 
a model of a vessel with the Merrimac's shield on it, but he origi- 
nated all of the interior arrangements of the vessel 

Fourth. — The Secretary says : " Mr. Porter cut the ship down, 
submerged her ends," &c. 

Her ends were submerged by the Federal authorities who burned 
her. There was no submerging of her ends as contemplated in 
Mr. Brooke's idea of water-tight tanks to regulate her draft. She 
was built upon a straight line from stem to stern. 

Fifth. — He says the Department directed Mr. Williamson, 
Lieutenant Brooke and Mr. Porter to report upon the best mode 
of making the Merrimac useful. The result of their investiga- 
tions was the recommendation of the submerged ends and the in- 
clined casemates for this vessel, which was adopted by the De- 
partment." 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 345 

Their report, which is published in full in this chapter, contains 
nothing of that character. It speaks for itself and contradicts the 
Secretary. When the question of the consideration of the Mem- 
mac was submitted to the hoard does not appear, and all three of 
the members of the hoard have stated that the conversion of the 
Merrimac into an iron-clad was purely accidental, and the result 
of circumstances, not of original design. 

Sixth. — The Secretary says : "We were compelled to deter- 
mine the inclination of the plates by actual experiment." 

The Secretary's memory is greatly at fault here, too. The an- 
gle of inclination of the plates was marked in Mr. Porter's 
drawings when he submitted them to the Secretary at the time 
the order was given to begin the work, and was not altered. Those 
drawings are now in the possession of the author, and are an un- 
questionable proof that the angle of inclination was designed by 
Mr. Porter, from his own judgment, when he prepared the draw- 
ings of the vessel, and not as the result of any experiments made 
by Lieutenant Brooke subsequent to that date. The shield was 
built upon an angle of 35 degrees, just as is delineated in the 
original drawings which were submitted to Secretary Mallory July 
11th, 1861. 

Seventh. — The Secretary says : " Mr. Brooke's plan was adopted 
by the Department." Well, suppose the Department did adopt 
Mr. Brooke's plan, which, up to that time, consisted only of some 
rough drawings, that- plan was not considered by Mr. Williamson 
and Mr. Porter, and was not in the mind of the Secretary him- 
self when he ordered the work to be commenced on the Merri- 
mac, for he wrote an autograph order to Commodore Forrest di- 
recting him to proceed with all practicable dispatch to make the 
changes in the Merrimac, and to build, equip and lit her in all 
respects according to the designs and plans of the Constructor 
and Engineer, Messrs. Porter and Williamson. 

These discrepancies between Secretary Mallory's report and cer- 
tain facts which have been so well established as to become 
axiomatic, are referred to simply to show the unreliability of an offi- 
cial report which is based upon memory, without regarding cotempo- 
raneous documents. 

Lieutenant Brooke has borne testimony in behalf of Construc- 
tor Porter. At the session of Congress of 1S62-3 a joint commit- 
tee of the Senate and House of Representatives was appointed to 
investigate Mi*. Mallory's management of the Navy Department, 
and on the 26th of February, 1863, Lieutenant Brooke testified 
before the committee. See their published report, page 110. He 
said : 

" The Constructor brought with him a model. I should have 
said the name of the Constructor was J. L.' Porter. This model 
is one of the models now in the Secretary's room. It consisted 

23 



346 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

of a shield and hull," &c. * * * "The Secretary directed 
the Constructor, Chief Engineer Williamson and myself to meet 
him at my office here. We met there and this model was exam- 
ined by us all, and the form of the shield was approved. It was 
considered a good shield, and for ordinary purposes -a good boat 
for harbor defence." * * * " Mr. Williamson proposed to 
put the shield on the Merrimac, Mr. Porter and myself thought 
the draft was too great, but -were nevertheless of the opinion that 
it was the best thing that could be done with our means." Mr. 
Brooke further says, after telling of the adoption of Mr. Porter's 
shield, " the Secretary then called the attention of Mr. Porter 
and Mr. Williamson to the drawing giving a general idea of the 
vessel I proposed." 

Therefore, from Lieutenant Brooke's own testimony, the shield 
of the Merrimac was Mr. Porter's shield, and it was at Mr. Wil- 
liamson's suggestion that it was put on that vessel, and furtlier- 
niore, the shield was adopted before his plans were submitted to 
the board. How, then, could the vessel have been converted into 
an iron-clad after Mr. Brooke's plans? Was there anything about 
her pertaining to an iron-clad except her shield ? Was there any- 
thing about her except her shield which could be dignified into 
the name of a, plan? 

The article previously referred to, written by Lieutenant Cates- 
by Jones, has been referred to by friends of Lieutenant Brooke 
as a proof of his claim. Lieutenant Jones said : 

"The Merrimac was raised and on June 23d following the 
Hon. S. P. Mallory, Confederate Secretary of the Navy, ordered 
that she should be converted into an iron-clad on the plan pro- 
posed by Lieutenant John M. Brooke, C. S. N." 

Following the same views expressed by Lieutenant Jones, Cap- 
tain John Taylor Wood wrote to the Century Magazine: 

" During the summer of 1861 Lieutenant George [John] M. 
.Brooke proposed to Secretary Mallory to raise and rebuild this 
ship as an iron-clad. His plans were approved and orders were 
given to carry them out." 

Those two gentlemen give Lieutenant Brooke more credit than 
he claims. He testified under oath before the Congressional 
committee that the proposition to make an iron-clad of the Mer- 
rimac first came from Chief Engineer Williamson, and that he 
himself opjmsed it. Nor were any orders ever issued by Secretary 
Mallory to make an iron-clad of her after Mr. Brooke's plans. 
The order to make her an iron-clad distinctly specified " the plans 
of the Constructor and Engineer, Messrs. Porter and William- 
son," and an order issued six weeks later proposed to hold those 
two officers " personally responsible " for their success. The order 
was issued July 11th, 1861, and not (on Sunday) June 23d, 1861. 
Lieutenant Jones seems to have had no authority for his version, 



THE " VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 



347 




348 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

nor "could ho produce any such order as lie refers to, and Captain 
Wood seems to have based his article upon Lieutenant Jones'. 
But such is history ! 

As soon as the report of Secretary Mallory was, made public 
Constructor Porter, with the sanction of Chief Engineer Wil- 
liamson, replied to it as follows through the Richmond Exam- 
iner : 

Navy Yard, Gosport, April 8th, 1862. 

To the Editor of the Examiner : 

Sir. — I find in the Examiner of the 4th instant a report of. the 
Secretary of the Navy to Congress, giving a detailed statement of 
the origin of the iron-clad Virginia. I feel sorry to have to re- 
ply to this report, inasmuch as it is published over the signature 
of the Secretary, * * but justice to myself requires that I should 
reply to it. 

The report commences by stating that "on the 1 Oth of June 
Lieutenant Brooke was directed to aid the Deparment in design- 
ing an iron-clad war vessel and f taming the necessary specifica- 
tions, and in a few' day is submitted to the Department rough 
drawings of a casemated vessel with submerged ends and inclined 
plated sides, the ends of the vessel and the eaves te be submerged 
two feet." I do not doubt the statements of the Secretary, but 
no such plans were submitted to the board, and, from the fact 
that the master carpenter had returned to this yard without com- 
pleting any plans, and myself being sent for immediately, and 
from the further fact that the Secretary presented us no plans 
from this source, I stated in my last communication that Lieuten- 
ant Brooke failed to produce anything, after a week's trial, and I 
am still of that opinion, so far as anything tangible is concerned. 
The report states that " the practical mechanic who was brought 
up from Norfolk was unable to make the drawings for Lieutenant 
Brooke, and that the Department then ordered Chief Engineer 
Williamson and Constructor Porter from the Navy Yard at Nor- 
folk to Richmond about the 23d of June, for consultation on the 
same subject generally and to aid in the work/' 

I do not understand this part of the report exactly, but if it is 
intended to convey the idea that we were to examine any plan of 
Lieutenant Brooke I never so understood it, neither did we act in 
accordance with any such idea, as our report will show. 

The report next refers to my model, which I carried up with 
me, the shield and plan of which is carried out on the Virginia, 
but the report seems to have lost sight of the fact that the eaves 
and ends of my model were submerged two feet, precisely like the 
Virginia. The ship was cut down on a straight line fore and aft, 
to suit this arrangement, and the shield extended over her just as 
far as the space inside would admit and leave room to work the 



THE "VIUUIMA" (MERRIMAC.) 349 

guns. A rough breakwater was built on it to throw off the water 
forward. 

The report states that I "made a clean drawing of Lieutenant 
Brooke's plan, which that officer then tiled with the Department." 
The only drawing that I ever made of the Virginia was made at 
my office in this Navy Yard, and which I presented to the De- 
partment on the 1 lth of July, just sixteen days after the board 
adjourned. This drawing and plan I considered my own, and not 
Lieutenant Brooke's. xYs soon as I presented this plan the Secre- 
tary wrote the following order while everything was fresh in his 
mind concerning this whole matter : 

Navy Department, ) 

Richmond, July 11th, 1861. J 

Flag Officer F. Forrest : 

Sir. — You will proceed with all practicable dispatch to make 
the changes in the Merrimac, and to build, equip and fit her in 
all respects according to the designs and plans of the Constructor 
and Engineer, Messrs. Porter and Williamson. As time is of 
the utmost importance in the matter, you will see that the work 
progresses without delay to completion. 

S. R. Mallory, 
Secretary Confederate States JSTavy. 

What, I would ask, could be more explicit than this letter, or 
what words could have established my claim stronger, if 1 had 
dictated them ? 

The concluding part of this report says : " The novel plan of 
submerging the ends of the ship and the eaves of the casemate, 
however, is the peculiar and distinctive feature of the Virginia." 
This may all be true, but it is just what my model calls for, and 
if Lieutenant Brooke presented " rough drawings' 1 to the Depart- 
ment carrying out the same views it may be called a singular co- 
incidence, and here 1 would remark that my model was not cal- 
culated to have much speed, but was intended for harbor defence 
only, and was of light draft, the eaves extending over the entire 
length of the model and submerged al! around two feet, end and 
sides, and the line on which I cut the ship down was just in ac- 
cordance with this, but if Lieutenant Brooke's ideas, which were 
submitted to the Secretary in his rough drawings, had been car- 
ried out, to cut her ends down low enough to build tanks on to 
regulate the draft of the vessel, she would have been much lower 
than my plan required, for all the water which now covers her 
ends would not alter her draft three inches if confined in tanks. 
All of the calculations of the weights and displacements, and the 
line to cut the ship down, were determined by myself, as well as 
her whole arrangements. 



350 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861 5. 

That Lieutenant Brooke may Lave been of great assistance to 
the department in trying the necessary experiments in determin- 
ing the thickness of the armor, getting up her battery and attend- 
ing to the shipping of the iron, &c, 1 do not doubt, but to claim 
for him the credit of designing the ship is a matter of too much 
interest to me to give up. Engineer Williamson discharged his 
duties with great success. The engines peformed beyond his most 
sanguine expectations, and these, with the improvements in her 
propeller, increased her speed three miles per hour. * * The 
Secretary of the Navy has not only been my friend in this Gov- 
ernment, but was a true and serviceable one under the IT. S. Gov- 
ernment, and has rendered me many acts of kindness for which I 
have always esteemed him, but the present unpleasant controversy 
involves a matter of so much importance to me that I shall be ex- 
cused for defending my claim, not only as the constructor, but the 
originator of the plan of the Virginia. 

John L. Porter, 

Confederate States Naval Constructor" 

There seems to have been a difference of recollection as to what 
became of Lieutenant Brooke's rough drawings. lie says Sec- 
retary Mallory laid them before the board. Messrs. Williamson 
and Porter say they were not before the board, or considered by 
it, and Mr. Mallory is silent on the subject. He says the board 
adopted Mr. Brooke's plan of submerged ends, but does not say 
how he obtained the information, nor does he claim to have been 
present at the conference. 

Messrs. Williamson and Porter say the plans of Mr. Porter 
were adopted, and that it was decided to build a new vessel after 
his model and Mr. Porter first made the proposition to adapt them 
to the Merrimac, after finding out the impracticability of getting 
an engine for a new boat. Mr. Brooke says Mr. Porter's shield 
was adopted and Mr. Williamson first proposed to apply it to the 
Merrimac. 

Chief Engineer Williamson gave to Mr. Porter a letter certify- 
ing to the fact that the Merrimac was converted into an iron-clad 
after his plans and not after plans of Mr. Brooke. That letter 
was burned up in Mr. Porter's office in Kichmond, but there are 
witnesses living at this writing who have read it. There are wit- 
nesses too, living who were on intimate terms with Chief Engi- 
neer Williamson, and to whom he expressed himself freely on the 
subject of the Merrimac, and to those he always said Mr. Porter 
was her projector. Mr. Williamson's death prevented Mr. Porter 
from getting a duplicate of his letter, but its contents and his 
views upon the subject can be substantiated by living witnesses. 
The following letters will bear out what has been said on this 
subject. The first was sent to the author by Captain Win. R. 
Singleton : 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 



351 




352 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

"Washington, D. C, June 15th, 1891. 

Dear Sir — * * In 1857, when I was constructing engin- 
eer in charge of the Pensacola Navy Yard, Mr. John L. Porter 
was the naval constructor and Lieutenant Johif Newton, (since 
then General and Chief Engineer) was in charge of Forts Pickens, 
McCrea and Barrancas. As we were, all three, from Norfolk and 
Portsmouth, Virginia, and, in early days, school boys together, we 
frequently met at the Navy Yard. On one occasion in my office, 
the conversation turned upon defences of harbors, &q. Mr. Por- 
ter explained to ns by diagrams, his method of constructing a ves- 
sel, which he said originated with him at the time he was con- 
structing the naval ship at Pittsburg, in 1846. * * I can re- 
member the sketches made at the Pensacola Yard in 1857. The 
Merrimac was altered to suit the broad idea so far as she could be 
in her then condition. I believe subsequently the Richmond was 
constructed from the beginning, as was his original idea. 

Hoping that Mr. Porter will get the credit to which I always 
insisted that he was justly entitled, 1 am, 
Very respectfully yours, 

Wm. R. Singleton, 
Late Constructing Engineer U. 8. Nam). 

Chief Engineer Schroeder, in the following letter, bears testi- 
mony to the existence and character of Mr. Porter's iron-clad, de- 
signed in Pittsburg in 1810, and also to the views of Chief En- 
gineer Williamson as to the projector of the Virginia : 

Norfolk, Va., January 8th, 1892. 

Dear Sir — During the late war my duties took me frequently 
to the Bureau of .Steam Engineering in Richmond, and 1 often 
heard, while there, Major Win, P. Williamson, the Engineer in 
Chief, say that the design of the Merrimac's shield was that of 
Mr. John L. Porter, who was the Chief Constructor of the C. S. 
Navy. Major Williamson was a member of the board which re- 
commended making an iron-clad of the Merrimac. I distinctly 
remember sketches and plans, similar in design to the shield of the 
Merrimac, which Mr. Porter had made in Pittsburg years prior to 
the war. 

Yours truly, . 

Chas. Schroeder. 

These two letters, together with the plans of the vessel in Con 
structor Porter's sketch book of naval designs, establish very 
clearly the fact that in 18-ifi, fifteen years before Mr. Porter ever 
saw Lieutenant Brooke, he designed an iron-clad vessel in Pitts- 
burg, the shield of which was of the same design as the shield he 
put on the Merrimac. This was ten years before England and 
France began experimenting on the subject of iron-clads, hence 
there is no good reason to question that the first iron-clad vessel 



THE ' ' VIRGINIA' ' ( MERRIMA C. ) 353 

ever designed, was the work of a native and citizen of Ports- 
mouth. 

That Chief Engineer Williamson, over his own signature, has 
certified that Constructor John L. Porter was the projector of the 
vessel, will be seen from the following letter : 

Norfolk, Va., January 9th, 1892. 

Sir — During the late war I was chief clerk in the office of 
Chief Constructor John L. Porter, Confederate States Navy, cor- 
ner of Main and Eleventh streets, Richmond. The office of Chief 
Engineer Wm. P. Williamson, of the Bureau of Steam Engineer- 
ing, was in an adjoining room, and scarcely a day passed without 
his coming in Mr. Porters office for consultation. We frequently 
talked on the subject of the Merrimac, and he told me repeatedly 
that she was made into an iron-clad after the plans of Mr. John L. 
Porter, and that there was no ground whatever for the claim 
which Lieutenant Brooke had set up to being her projector. I 
also remember having read a letter to that effect which Mr. Wil- 
liamson gave to Mr. Porter, and which was, in all probability, 
burned with the other papers in Mr. Porter's office, at the evacu- 
ation of Richmond by the Confederates in April, 1865. Mr. 
Porter was, at that time, absent from Richmond, having gone to 
North Carolina on business for the Navy Department, and the 
building in which his office was located, was burned in the general 
conflagration. 

Very respectfully, 

Jno. W. Borum. 

Commodore Marshall Parks, an intimate friend of Chief En- 
gineer Williamson, had many opportunities to learn from him the 
history of the Merrimac, and has furnished the author with the 
following testimonial, both as to the - character of the model Con- 
structor Porter took with him to Richmond and as to Chief En- 
gineer Williamson's statement of what took place at the meeting 
of the board on the 25th of June, 1861. 

Norfolk, Va., January 9th, 1892. 

Dear Sir — In reply to your communication I will state that 
when I was appointed by the Governor and Council of North 
Carolina as commissioner with Commander Muse (who had re- 
signed from the United States Navy) to establish her navy, I had 
to visit the Gosport Navy Yard frequently to obtain supplies for the 
gunboats we had purchased and were fitting out at Norfolk. I well 
recollect on one of those visits Naval Constructor John L. Porter 
exhibited to me a model of an iron-clad which was identically the 
same plan which was afterwards applied to the Merrimac. 

He subsequently carried it to Richmond, and orders were given 
to carry out his plan. I went to Raleigh and informed the Gov- 
ernor and members of the Legislature of die plan, and suggested 
that some small iron-clads be built for the defense of the North 
Carolina sounds. I recollect that the plan so impressed me and 



354 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5, 

them, that I was directed to write a " Bill " to authorize the Gov- 
ernor to have some vessels built on the plan, and it- was passed 
immediately. 

The State of North Carolina soon after this decided to join the 
Confederacy, and I was directed to go to Richmond and turn over 
all the steamers we had purchased and fitted out to the Confeder- 
ate States Navy Department. I have had a life-long acquaint- 
ance with Major W. P. Williamson, who was the senior engineer 
of the United States Navy, and during and since the war he always 
expressed himself to me that the Merrimac was converted into an 
iron-clad after the plans of Mr. John L. Porter, and that Lieuten- 
ant John M. Brooke had nothing to do with her except to super- 
intend the preparation of a portion of her guns. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Marshall Parks. 

As all of Naval Constructor Porter's original drawings are 
still in existence, subject to the inspection of any one who has any 
desire to look at them, and, as they speak for tbemselves, and as 
the foregoing letters are from gentlemen and officials who were 
in positions to know the facts of which they write, there can be 
but one conclusion drawn from them and that is that the Merrimac 
was converted into an iron-clad after the plans of Naval Construc- 
tor John L. Porter. The evidence may be summed up briefly. 

Mr. Porter invented an ironclad in 1846, the plan of which 
submerged the eaves too feet below the water line. In May, 
1861, he had a model made at the Gosport Navy Yard, changing 
somewhat the shape of the hull of his Pittsburg boat, but retain- 
ing the features of her shield and submerged eaves. She was 
submerged all around, eaves and ends. 

In June, 1861, Lieutenant Brooke was in consultation with 
Secretary Mai lory on the subject of ironclads and Mr. Joseph 
Pierce, Master Ship Carpenter of the Gosport Navy Yard, and 
afterwards a Naval Constructor in the Confederate Navy, was 
sent to Richmond to help him develop his idea, but nothing was 
developed and no vessel was designed, no specifications drafted. 

On the 23d of June Mr. Porter went to Richmond and took 
his model with him, and on the 25th, by order of Secretary Mal- 
lory, Messrs. Williamson, Brooke and Porter met in Mr. Brooke's 
office in the Navy Department and that model was laid before 
them. The form of the shield was adopted (even Mr. Brooke ad- 
mits this) and, according to Mr. Brooke's recollection, Mr. Wil- 
liamton suggessed that it be adapted to the Merrimac, but Messrs. 
Williamson and Porter say the proposition first came from Mr. 
Porter. Mr. Williamson could not have made the suggestion 
for he did not know that the Merrimac could carry the shield, but 
be that as it may, the shield which was on Mr. Porter's model was, 
according to the statements of all three members of the board, di- 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 355 

rected to be adapted to the Merrimac, because there were no fa- 
cilities to build a new engine for a new boat, and Mr. Porter re- 
turned to the Navy Yard in Portsmouth to measure the remains 
of that vessel, and prepare the plans. He made the plans unas- 
sisted by anyone, originated all of the interior arrangements, de- 
cided how long her shield would be, fixed the angle of inclination 
at 35 degrees, and cut her down so that the ends of her iron plat- 
ing, or eaves, would he two feet under water, just as was contem- 
plated in his Pittsburg vessel of 1846, and in the model which he 
carried with him to Richmond. 

Lieutenant Brooke's idea of submerging the ends of an iron- 
clad, according to Secretary Mallory's report, contemplated the 
building of water tight tanks on them to regulate her draft of 
water, and Mr. Porter shows that, had she been cut down in con- 
formity with Mr. Brooke's idea she would have been cut down 
much lower than was actually the case, for all of the water which 
was over her ends would not have aifected her draft three inches 
if confined in tanks. Therefore she could not have been cut 
down to suit Mr. Brooke's idea. 

Messrs. Porter and Williamson were very explicit as to the 
part Mr. Brooke performed, namely, that his connection with the 
plan of the ship consisted in superintending a portion of her bat- 
tery ; and it will be remembered there were only three members 
of the board, and no one but those three gentlemen were compe- 
tent to speak of what took place at their meeting. 

But Mr. Porter completed the plans for the hull, took them to 
Richmond and submitted them to Secretary Mallory on the 11th 
of July, 1861, just sixteen days after the meeting of the board. 
Lieutenant Brooke's rough drawings, such as they were, and the 
plan proposed therein, whatever it was, must have been fresh in 
the Secretary's mind. If they made any impression upon him 
there had not been time for it to have been eradicated, especially as 
he and Mr. Brooke had been talking the matter over between 
themselves from the 10th to the 25th of June, but while every- 
thing was fresh in his mind, if it had been Mr. Brooke's plan 
which he approved, would he have written his order to Commo- 
dore Forrest " to make the changes in the Merrimac, and to build, 
equip and fit her in all respects, according to the designs and 
plans of the Constructor and Engineer, Messrs \ Porter and Wil- 
liamson f " 

There is no mention in this order of Lieutenant Brooke or his 
plans, nor was there in Mr. Mallory's report to Congress of July 
18th, 1861, nor in his order to Commodore Forrest of Aug. 19th, 
declaring his purpose of holding Messrs. Porter and Williamson 
personally responsible for the success of their plans. Charity to 
Mr. Mallory would say his report of March 29th, 1862, was the 
result of a defective memory. 

Had it been practicable Mr. Porter would not have submerged 



,356 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

the ends of the Merrimac at all, but would have raised them out 
of the water like the ends of his Pittsburg model, and like he did 
the iron-clads which were subsequently built for the Confederate 
navy, but too much of her had been burned off for that, and, on 
account of the manner of the construction of the hulk, it would 
have been impossible to have built up and protected her ends 
above the water without the expenditure of a great deal of time 
and money, even if there had been enough of her left for that 
purpose, hence he was compelled to arrange her after the plans 
of his model, which was submerged all around, eaves and ends, 
the model he took to Richmond, and which, according to Messrs. 
Williamson and himself, he was directed to apply to the Merri- 
mac. The Merrimac was not selected as the result of any plan, 
but simply because she had an engine in her which could be 
utilized where it was, and the Confederates lacked the facilities 
for building a new engine for a new boat. The burned portion 
of her was cut away and the weight of her armor, armament, &c, 
submerged the remainder so that only her shield was out of 
water. It is not probable that Constructor Porter would have 
built a new vessel with her ends extending out under water be- 
yond her shield. He converted the Merrimac into an iron-clad 
after that style through necessity, and not from choice. They 
were the weak points of the ship, the crew had no place for re- 
creation and were kept in the casemate, the ends were liable to 
spring aleak, and being hidden from sight, confused the pilot in 
steering, besides retarding the vessel. The shield was extended 
as far forward and aft as the sharpness of her ends would permit. 

It was a well known fact that pig iron was put on the Virginia 
to sink her deeper in the water, and various writers have endeav- 
ored to account for this. Lieutenant Brooke, in his testimony be- 
fore the Congressional investigating committee, which has gone 
forth to the world as history, says: "After the vessel was launched 
Mr. Porter stated to me that he had accidentally omitted in his 
calculations sqme weights which were on board the ship, in con- 
sequence of which she did not draw as much water when launched 
as he anticipated." Mr. Brooke evidently made a mistake here. 
Mr. Porter could hardly have told him that, for if he had omitted 
in his calculations any of the weights in the ship she would have 
drawn more instead of less water than he calculated. The facts 
are, Mr. Porter had to give her more draft than was necessary to 
prevent cutting into her propeller, which was already in the ship, 
and this was the displacement which had to be overcome by the 
pig iron. Mr. Porter could hardly have told Mr. Brooke that 
the ship was launched. She was built in the dry-dock, and when 
finished the water was turned in and she was simply floated off 
the blocks. She was not launched. 

The cuts which are published of the Virginia, and also of the 
vessel contemplated in Mr. Porter's model which he carried with 



THE "VIRGINIA" (MERRIMAC.) 357 

him to Richmond and submitted to the board, are very positive 
evidence that they were identical in plan, and Mr. Brooke ad- 
mitted in his testimony before the Congressional investigating; 
committee that this shield was adopted by the board before his 
own rough drawings were submitted to it. The converting of the 
vessel into an iron clad consisted in putting the shot proof shield 
on her. That is all of an iron-clad nature there was abont her, 
all there was of a plan. All of the rest of her was the result of 
accident, and not design, and if any one is entitled to the credit 
of submerging her ends beyond her shield, it was Commodore 
Paulding of the United States Navy, who ordered the Gosport 
Navy Yard to be burned, in consequence of which the Merrimac 
was burned to the waters edge. The deck plan of the Virginia 
shows for itself, that the shield was extended fore and aft as faras 
the conformation of the ship would permit, and was there stopped 
from necessity. When Constructor Porter drew the plans by 
which she Avas converted into an iron-clad he followed precisely 
the plan which he had mapped out in his model, suhmerged her 
eaves and ends two feet all around, and would have extended her 
shield her entire length had she not been too sharp at the bow 
and stern, and therefore he stopped it where the vessel became 
too narrow to admit its being built any further. He did not de- 
sire any assistance from Mr. Brooke's undeveloped idea or unma- 
tured plans. The plans upon which he converted the Merrimac 
into an iron-clad were his own, and were fully matured, deline- 
ated and calculated before he ever saw Mr. Brooke. No better 
proof can be adduced of this than the original drawings of the 
three boats, which are still in existence. 

Subsequent to the publication of the report of Secretary Mal- 
lory Lieutenant Brooke applied to the Confederate Patent Office 
and obtained a patent for "an iron-clad with submerged ends, 
projecting beyond her shield," and it has been claimed for him 
that this is an evidence that he was the author of the plans upon 
which the Virginia was built into an iron-clad. There might be 
some grounds for this claim if the matter had been contested and 
judicially decided when the patent was granted, but Naval Con- 
structor Porter had no knowledge that the patent was being ap- 
plied for, and therefore no opposition was made to it, and it was 
issued as a matter of course. After it was granted it was not 
worth contesting. No naval architect would construct a vessel in 
that manner from choice. The Virginia grew out of the necessi- 
ties of the Confederacy and the want of facilities to build a new 
engine for a new vessel. No iron-clads were subsequently built 
with submerged projecting ends. Mr. Porter did not then fore- 
see that this patent would, in future years, be appealed to as 
evidence to deprive him of the credit of his invention. The 
claim set forth in the patent seems to be solely for submerged 
ends, and not for the iron-plated shield. 



CHAPTER XLV1II. - 

THE BATTLE OF HAMPTON ROADS. 

When the water was turned into the dry-dock and the Merri- 
mac was floated, her name was changed by order of the Secretary 
of the Navy to "The Virginia," and though not really completed, 
Captain Buchanan, who had been assigned to her as her comman- 
der, decided to proceed with her to attack the Federal vessels m 
Hampton Roads, and on the 8th of March, 1862, a little before 
noon, she steamed slowly away from the Navy Yard. Both 
banks of the river were lined with spectators, and the troops sta- 
tioned at the various batteries around the harbor cheered her as 
she passed. She appeared on the water like a sunken house with 
nothing but the roof above the tide. Her officers were: 

Captain, Franklin Buchanan, of Maryland. 

Lieutenants, Catesby ApR. Jones, of Virginia ; Chas. C. Sirnins, 
of Virginia; Robert D. Minor, of Virginia; Hunter Davidson, of 
Virginia ; John Taylor Wood, of Louisiana ; J. R. Eggleston, of 
Mississippi, and Walter R. Butt, of Virginia. 

Midshipmen, R. C. Foote, of Tennessee ; H. H. Marmaduke, of 
Missouri; II. B. Littlepage, of Virginia; W. J. Craig, of Ken- 
tucky ; J. C. Long, of Tennessee, and L. M. Roots, of Virginia. 

Paymaster, James Semple, of Virginia. 

Surgeon, I). B. Phillips, and assistant. A. S. Garnett, both of 
Virginia. 

Captain of Marines, R. T. Thorn, of Alabama. 

Enginees— Chief, H. Ashton Ramsay, of Virginia; assistants, 
John W. Tynan, of Virginia ; Loudon Campbell, of Virginia ; 
Benjamin Herring, of North Carolina; E. V. White, of Georgia; 
E. A. Jack, of Virginia, and Robert Wright, of Virginia. 

Boatswain, Charles II. Hasker ; Gunner, Charles B. Oliver; 
Carpenter, Hugh Lindsay; Clerk, Arthur Sinclair, Jr.; Volunteer 
Aide, Douglas F. Forrest ; Commandant United Artillery, Cap- 
tain Thomas Kevill, all of Virginia. 

Pilots, ¥m. Parrish, Win. Clarke, Ilezekiah Williams and 
George Wright, all of the Virginia Pilots' Association. 

Her crew was made up of about three hundred men, some of 
whom were seamen, but the larger portion were landsmen, who 
volunteered from the army, but for such service as was expected 
on the Virginia, landsmen w r ere as good as seamen. No record 
has been kept of the names of the crew. Some of the men were 
obtained from General Magruder's army on the Peninsula, some 
were from Norfolk county and Portsmouth, and thirty-one men 
from the United Artillery Company of Norfolk, under Captain 

358 



THE BATTLE OF HAMPTON ROADS. 359 

Kevill, volunteered to make up her- complement. Sixteen of that 
number manned the forward gun on the starboard side and the 
rest were distributed among the other guns' crews. 

In order to guard against any accident to her machinery, her 
engines were worked very slowly until she readied Hampton 
Roads. Chief Engineer Ramsey is reported as having said "he 
had little confidence in it," but it worked very well during the 
engagement. After passing Seawell's Point the pilot took the 
south channel for Newport News, where the frigate Congress and 
sloop-of-war Cumberland were lying at anchor. While the Vir- 
ginia was heading for Newport News the -United States steam 
frigate Minnesota started from Old Point by the north channel 
to the assistance of her consorts, and was soon followed by the 
steam frigate Roanoke and the sailing frigate St. Lawrence. The 
Minnesota grounded about a mile and a half from Newport News, 
and the Roanoke and St. Lawrence, seeing the result of the bat- 
tle with the Congress and Cumberland, retired to Fortress Mon- 
roe, not, however, before the latter had received a 7-inch shell 
from the Virginia. 

While the ^Minnesota was moving up from Fortress Monroe she 
passed within range of the rifle guns in the Confederate batteries 
at Seawell's Point, manned by the Jackson Grays, Captain Wm. 
H. Stewart, of Norfolk county, Company A, 61st Virginia Regi- 
ment, and they opened fire upon her. She returned the fire, but 
without effect. Several shots from the battery struck the ship, 
and one of them lodged in her mainmast. The officers of the 
Minnesota took this for a shell from a six-inch Armstrong gun. 

The Virginia was accompanied by the gunboats Raleigh, Lieu- 
tenant J. W. Alexander, mounting one rifle 32-pounder gun, and 
Beaufort, Lieutenant Win. H. Parker, mounting one rifle 32- 
pounder and one 24-pounder. The lookouts on the Congress and 
Cumberland sighted the Virginia as soon as she passed Cra- 
ney Island and both ships prepared for action. Moving 
slowly towards the enemy, Captain Buchanan gave the order to 
fire the bow gun at the Cumberland w T hen about a thousand yards 
from her. The gun was a seven-inch rifle, and it was so well 
aimed that the shell passed through the Cumberland, raking her 
fore and aft and doing fearful execution. The captain of the gun 
was named Cahill. He was from New Orleans, and volunteered 
from one of the Louisiana regiments at Yorktown to serve on the 
Virginia. Mr. Richard Curtis, formerly of Portsmouth, but now 
of Norfolk, was also at this gun. He entered the Confederate 
service in one of the Hampton companies which was attached to 
General Magruder's command, and, like Cahill, volunteered to 
serve on the Virginia. The course the Virginia pursued brought 
her abreast of the Congress before reaching the Cumberland, but 
passing the former vessel with a broadside, Captain Buchanan 



360 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

stood for the Cumberland and. passed word down to his crew to 
stand fast, that he was going to ram her. True to his purpose, he 
struck her on the starboard side, knocking in her a large hole, 
from which she filled and sank in about fifteen minutes. The 
Congress and Cumberland both opened their guns upon the Vir- 
ginia, but the shots glanced harmlessly from her shield. As the 
Cumberland careened over from the blow of the Virginia the 
men on the Virginia saw her bulwarks lined with sailors and ma- 
rines armed with cutlasses and muskets to repel an attack of 
boarders, her commander thinking that was the purpose of the 
Virginia in coming so near without firing upon her. Almost im- 
mediately after the impact the bow gun of the Virginia was fired 
a second time into the Cumberland, and the sponger, in his en- 
thusiasm, leaped into the port hole to sponge out the gun. As he 
did so he was killed by a musket ball from the Cumberland, which 
entered his forehead. His name was Dunbar, and he, too, was 
from New Orleans. Passing beyond the Cumberland, which soon 
went down bow foremost, with her colors flying and guns firing, 
the Virginia kept on until she found room to turn around, when 
she returned to engage the Congress. This vessel was run ashore 
by her commander to escape the ramming power of the Virginia, 
but was soon disabled, her decks strewn with dead and wounded 
and the vessel on fire in three or four places. After about an 
hour's firing she hoisted a white flag in token of surrender. The 
Beaufort and Raleigh steamed alongside of her and took posses- 
sion. Two of her officers, Lieutenants Smith and Pendergrast, 
went on board the Beaufort and surrendered their swords, after 
which they asked permission to return to the Congress to assist in 
removing the wounded to the Beaufort, as the Congress was on 
fire. The permission was granted, but they availed of it to make 
their escape to the shore and never returned to the Beaufort The 
enemy kept up a constant fire of musketry and artillery from the 
shore to prevent the Confederates from taking possession of the 
vessel, and a number of men on the Raleigh and Beaufort were 
killed and wounded, among them some of the Federal prisoners 
from the Congress. Lieutenant Minor, of the Virginia, while 
rowing to the Congress in the Virginia's launch was also wounded. 
This determined Captain Buchanan to destroy her. He accord- 
ingly set her on fire with hot shot from the Virginia. She burned 
until about midnight, when, the fire having reached her powder 
magazine, she was blown up. During the engagement Captain 
Buchanan stood in one of the hatchways in the top of the Vir- 
ginia's shield, and, from that position, directed the movements of 
the vessel, but desiring to return the fire from the shore, he called 
for a musket, and getting above the shield, so that he could take 
better aim, he exposed nearly his whole body, and his thigh bone 
was broken by a musket ball from the shore. The wound disa- 



THE BATTLE OF HAMPTON ROADS. 361 

bled him, and the command of the vessel devolved upon Lieuten- 
ant Jones. Captain Buchanan's leg was subsequently amputated. 
Lieutenant Jones now directed his attention to the Minnesota, 
which was still aground, and separated from the Virginia by the 
"middle ground," or shoal. Before the Congress surrendered the 
Confederate vessels had been reinforced by the James river 
squadron, composed of the Patrick Henry, twelve guns, under 
Captain John R. Tucker, the Thomas Jefferson, two guns, under 
Lieutenant J. M. Barney, and the Teazer, two guns, under Lien- 
tenant W. C. Webb. These vessels ran past the shore batteries 
at Newport News without suffering any material injury, except 
that the Patrick Henry received a shot through her boiler, which 
disabled her temporarily. The escaping steam scalded four men 
to death. The Thomas Jefferson towed her out of action, and, 
after a delay of about two hours repairing damages, she returned 
and played a prominent part in the battle. These vessels being 
of lighter draft than the Virginia, succeeded in getting much 
nearer to the Minnesota than the iron-clad could. The Minnesota 
was very badly cut up, and Captain Van Brunt, her commander, 
says it was more from the fire of the gunboats than from the Vir- 
ginia. The engagement was kept up until darkness prevented a 
proper aim, when the Confederate vessels retired to Seawell's 
Point, with the intention of renewing the battle in the morning. 
During the night efforts were made to get the Minnesota afloat, 
but they were unsuccessful, and in the morning she was lying al- 
most exactly where she grounded the day before. About 7 a. m. 
on the 9th the Confederate flotilla again advanced against her for 
the purpose of completing her destruction. A new antagonist, 
however, appeared upon the scene and offered battle. This was 
a Federal iron-clad which had arrived during the night, and 
proved to be the Ericsson Monitor. It consisted of a hull, sharp 
at both ends, standing about eighteen Inches out of the water, and 
amidships on the deck was a round turret of iron, nine inches 
thick, in which were two eleven-inch Dahlgren guns. When the 
Monitor first made her appearance from behind the Minnesota 
she looked like a raft to the people on the Virginia, and Lieuten- 
ant Davidson remarked, " The Minnesota's crew are leaving her 
on a raft," but the raft started towards the Virginia and showed 
fight. The details of this combat are very interesting in marking 
a new era in naval warfare. For the first time in the history of 
the world two iron-clads were contending for the mastery. They 
were made upon different plans — that of the Virginia, with in- 
clined sides, was the better plan of the two, and has since been 
adopted by the United States Government in the construction of 
its later w T ar vessels, but the greater mechanical facilities at the 
disposal of the United States enabled that Government to build 
the better w r ar vessel upon an inferior plan. The Virginia's great 

24 



362 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

length, deep draft of water and inferior machinery were disad- 
vantages as compared with her antagonist's greater speed, lighter 
draft and ability to turn in a shorter space. The armor of the 
Monitor was five inches thicker than that of the Virginia, and 
was made in large plates without the wooden backing, but, being 
perpendicular, had to resist the shots of the Virginia by main 
strength, while the inclined sides of the Virginia caused the 
shots of the Monitor to glance off without imparting their full 
momentum. 

When the iron-clads became engaged the Confederate wooden 
vessels retired from the contest to await the result of the battle. 
For several hours, part of which the two ships were almost touch- 
ing each other, they continued pouring broadside after broadside 
into each other without any apparent eflect. The Monitor fired 
both solid shot and shell, while the Virginia had nothing but 
shell. These were not heavy enough to penetrate the Monitor's 
armor, while the heavy projectiles from that vessel glanced harm- 
lessly from the Virginia's inclined sides. Both seemed to be in- 
vulnerable. At one time during the action the Virginia got 
aground, and the Monitor took np~a favorable position for attack, 
but she soon floated again and attempted to run down the Moni- 
tor ; the latter, however, partially avoided the blow, which glanced 
from her side. It has been claimed by Confederate authority 
that, but for a mistake made at this time on the part of the Vir- 
ginia, she would have forced the Monitor under water. It is said 
that while her bow was pressing against the Monitor's side that 
vessel was being badly careened, and that a few more forward 
turns of the Virginia's propeller would have forced her under the 
water, but the Virginia's engines were reversed and the two ves- 
sels separated. Finally a shell from the Virginia struck the pilot 
house of the Monitor and disabled her commander, Lieutenant 
John L. Worden, who had taken up his position there. The 
Monitor then withdrew from the fight and steamed away towards 
Fortress Monroe. The Virginia again turned towards the Min- 
nesota as if to complete her destruction, and Captain Van Brunt 
was considering the propriety of setting her on fire to prevent her 
falling into the hands of the Confederates when, very much to 
his surprise, as well as to his delight, the Virginia changed her 
course and steamed for Seawell's Point, whence she continued on 
to the Navy Yard. No satisfactory reason has been given why 
the Virginia left the Eoads without first destroying the Minne- 
sota. The Monitor had withdrawn from the fight and the Min- 
nesota lay there a helpless prey, unable to move. The reported 
leak on the Virginia's bow, caused by the breaking off of her beak 
when she rammed the Cumberland, was an insignificant affair at 
best, and had been stopped by Mr. Iiasker, the boatswain. The 
machinery of the vessel was working very well, the tftde did not 



THE BATTLE OF HAMPTON ROADS. 363 

necessitate her return, for she remained in the Roads until dark 
the day before, and there was no necessity for her immediate re- 
turn to the Navy Yard. The only inconvenience which resulted 
from the action was the perforation of her smokestack with nu- 
merous shot holes, but the withdrawal of the Monitor left the 
Virginia in a position to have had those stopped up temporarily, 
and with little loss of time. As it was, her returning to the Navy 
Yard without first destroying the Minnesota has enabled the 
Northern historians to lay claim to a victory for the Monitor. 
Captain Van Brunt, commander of the Minnesota, in his official 
report of the action, says the Monitor was the first to withdraw. 
He says : 

" The Merrimac, finding that she could make nothing of the 
Monitor, turned her attention once more to me, and now, on her 
second approach, I opened upon her with all my broadside guns 
and ten-inch pivot gun, a broadside which would have blown out 
of the water any timber-built ship in the world. She returned 
my fire with her rifled bow gun with a shell which passed through 
the chief engineer's state room, through the engineers' mess room 
amidships, and burst in the boatswain's room, tearing four rooms 
into one, in its passage exploding two charges of powder, which 
set the ship on fire, but it was promptly extinguished by a party 
headed by my First Lieutenant. Her second went through the 
boiler of the tugboat Dragon, exploding it and causing some con- 
sternation on board my ship for the moment until the matter was 
explained. This time I had concentrated upon her an incessant 
fire from my gun deck, spar deck and forecastle pivot guns, and 
was informed by my marine officer, who was stationed on the 
poop, that at least fifty solid shot struck her on her slanting side 
without producing any apparent effect. By the time she had 
fired her third shell the little Monitor had come down upon her, 
placing herself between us, and compelled her to change her po- 
sition, in doing which she grounded, and I again poured into her 
all the guns which could be brought to bear upon her. As soon 
as she got off she stood down the" bay, the little battery chasing 
her with all speed, when suddenly the Merrimac turned around 
and ran full speed into her antagonist. * * * •< The Rebels 
concentrated their whole battery upon the tower and pilot house 
of the Monitor, and soon after the latter stood down for Fortress 
Monroe, and we thought it probable she had exhausted her sup- 
ply of ammunition or sustained some injury. Soon after the 
Merrimac and the two other steamers headed for my ship, and I 
then felt to the fullest extent my condition. I was hard and im- 
movably aground, and they could take position under my stern 
and rake me. * * * After consulting my officers, I ordered 
every preparation to be made to destroy the ship after all hope 
was gone to save her. On ascending my poop deck I ascertained 



364 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

that the enemy's vessels had changed their course and were head- 
ing for Craney Island." 

Thus it is apparent that, had the Virginia remained ten minutes 
longer in Hampton Roads, the Minnesota would have been de- 
stroyed by her own crew. 

The Virginia returned to the Navy Yard and was docked. A 
new and stronger prow was put on her, and a course of two-inch 
iron, extending four feet down from the knuckle, was placed all 
around her, wrought iron shutters were fitted to her four quarter 
ports and solid shot were cast for her guns. The holes in her 
smokestack were patched and a half a dozen pieces of armor plate 
were removed and replaced by new ones. These alterations con- 
sumed nearly a month's time, and it was the 8th of April before 
she came out of the dry-dock. Commodore Tatnall had in the 
meantime, succeeded Captain Buchanan as her commander, and 
on the 11th of April, accompanied by the Patrick Henry, Thomas 
Jefferson, Raleigh, Beaufort, Teazer and a wooden tug or tender 
from the Navy Yard, he steamed down to Hampton Roads pre- 
j>ared to engage and capture the Monitor. Each of the small 
steamers was manned with a boarding party. There were three 
divisions on each boat, and it was expected that some of them 
would be sunk by the Monitor before reaching her, but if any 
one boat succeeded in boarding her the enterprise promised to be 
successful. One division was directed to cover the pilot house 
with tarpaulins to prevent the wheelsman from seeing ; another 
was to drive iron wedges between the turret and deck to prevent 
it from revolving, and the third was to ignite combustibles, such 
as turpentine, &c, and throw them down the funnel into the tur- 
ret, and then cover the turret over with tarpaulins to smother the 
crew. The Virginia found the Monitor under the guns of For- 
tress Monroe, and Commodore Tatnall, apprehending torpedoes 
and shoal water, approached her as close as he thought advisable 
and then lay to, challenging her to come out and fisrht. The chal- 
lenge was not accepted, and, noticing two brigs and a schooner 
anchored off Hampton bar, Commodore Tatnall ordered the 
Thomas Jefferson to capture them. The capture was effected 
without any resistance, and, hoisting their flags with the Union 
down, to tempt the Monitor to come to their rescue, the Jefferson 
took them in tow and carried them to Craney Island, whence they 
were taken to the Navy Yard. The brigs were the Marcus, of 
Stockton, New Jersey, and the Sabout, of Providence, Rhode 
Island, and were loaded with hay for the United States army. 
The schooner was the Catherine T. Dix, of Accomac county, Vir- 
ginia, and was in ballast. Finding the Monitor would not fight, 
the Virginia returned to Seawell's Point and anchored. This af- 
fair was witnessed by a couple of English and French men-of-war 
which were anchored in the Roads, and which, expecting a fight, 
moved up towards Newport News, to give the combatants room. 



THE BA TTLE OF HAMPTON R OADS. 365 

It is more than probable that, had the Monitor come out to fight 
the Virginia, she would have been captured. 

She had another opportunity to tight the Virginia on the 8th 
of May, but again declined. On that day, a little before noon, 
the Federal fleet, consisting of the Monitor, Naugatuck, Minne- 
sota, Dacotah, Seminole and San Jacinto, moved over to Sea- 
well's Point and began bombarding the Confederate batteries. 
The Virginia was at the Navy Yard, and steamed down to the 
assistance of the batteries. As she turned Lambert's Point she 
came within sight of the Federal fleet about six or seven miles 
lower down the river, and the entire fleet retired to Fortress Mon- 
roe. Commodore Tatnall pursued until he reached the vicinity 
of the Rip Raps, when he returned to Seawell's Point. 

On the first of May the order came to evacuate Norfolk and 
Portsmouth, and the proper disposition to be made of the Vir- 
ginia became a question of considerable moment. Commodore 
Tatnall requested Naval Constructor Porter to have a set of 
wooden port-bucklers made for her, to keep the water from com- 
ing in her port holes. He said he knew a port in Georgia where 
there was sufficient depth of water for her, and he intended tak- 
ing her there. The bucklers were make, but were never taken 
out of the carpenter shop at the Navy Yard. The fear of torpe- 
does at Fortress Monroe and the fact that the Virginia was not a 
safe sea boat in stormy weather, when the waves would be liable 
to wash over her, induced Commodore Tatnall to change his mind 
about taking her to Georgia, and he commenced lightening her, 
for the purpose of carrying her up James river. The pilots in- 
formed him that they could carry eighteen feet over the principal 
bar in the river, and he desired to lighten her to seventeen feet. 
Paymaster Semple inquired of Naval Constructor Porter if the 
vessel would have stability on a draft of seventeen feet, but did 
not volunteer any information as to the object of his inquiry. Mr. 
Porter replied that she would. To have lightened her to that 
draft, however, would have necessitated the removal of almost 
everything in her, even to a part of her machinery. But the 
Commodore began on the morning of the 10th to throw overboard 
everything moveable, and, having brought her hull out of water, 
and not having succeeded in reducing her depth sufficiently to 
have carried her over the bar, and having no means of again set- 
tling her in the water, he determined to set her on fire and de- 
stroy her. Accordingly the match was applied and about day- 
break on the morning of the 1 1th she was blown up, the fire hav- 
ing reached her magazine. Thus perished by the hands of her 
own commander this famous vessel, which the most powerful en- 
gines of war in the possession of her enemies were unable to in- 
jure. How much more glorious would have been her end, and 
how much higher her name would have stood in history, had her 
commander, instead of setting her on fire, ran past Fortress Mon- 



366 NORFOLK COUNTY, 1861-5. 

roe and destroyed or dispersed McClellan's fleet of war ships and 
transports which were lying outside the fort and in York river. 
The guns of Fortress Monroe were as powerless to injure her as 
were those of the Monitor, Minnesota, Cumberland and Congress. 
The enemy gained everything and lost nothing by her destruc- 
tion, and her late antagonists, who were kept at bay by the terror 
of her name, steamed boldly up to the twin cities which she had 
so thoroughly guarded. Her crew marched to Suffolk and took 
part in the defence of Drury's Bluff later that month. 

Whether or not Commodore Tatnall was justifiable in destroy- 
ing the Virginia will remain a matter of discussion. A naval 
court of inquiry exonerated him from all blame, but his defence 
of himself was marred by an attempt to blacken the good name 
of the Virginia pilots and to fasten upon them the imputation of 
being deficient in personal courage. 

The Federal Government had a wholesome fear of the Virginia 
and offered rewards and promotion to any one who would destroy 
her. The Navy Department- ordered the Potomac river to be 
blocked with vessels loaded with stone, to prevent her coming to 
Washington. These preparations were kept up for several weeks, 
until it was ascertained that her draft of water was too great to 
enable her to ascend the river. General Wool was authorized by 
a dispatch from Washington, dated March 9th, at 1 p. in. (after 
the Monitor had retired from the fight), to evacuate Newport 
News, but to hold Fortress Monroe at all hazards. President 
Lincoln issued orders that the Monitor be not too much exposed ; 
he was afraid to risk the consequences of another battle with the 
Virginia, and on the 14th day of March, five days after the bat- 
tle between the two iron-clads, Quartermaster General M. C. 
Meigs of the United States army, wrote to Captain Dahlgrcn, 
commanding the Washington Navy Yard, as follows : 

" Your telegram relative to barges received. I have ordered 
eight more sent down. I have seen nothing yet to satisfy me 
that in the next engagement the Monitor will not be sunk." 

These barges were to block up the Potomac river, and General 
Meigs was correct. Had the Monitor come out to fight on the 
11th of April, when the Virginia was prepared for her, she would 
have been sunk or captured. General Wool, commanding the 
department at Fortress Monroe, in a leiter of the 14th of March 
to Secretary of War Stanton, expressed the fear that the Monitor 
would be overcome in the next engagement and that Newport 
News would have to be abandoned, and on the 15th, the Secre- 
tary, having no faith in the ability of the Monitor to successfully 
contend against the Virginia, proposed to make a contract with 
Mr. C. Vanderbilt to destroy her, but what the utmost exertions 
of the United States Government were powerless to do was done 
by her own commander, and the first and most famous of iron- 
clads passed out of existence. 



JVEahoneyville Distilling Company, 

ALEXANDRIA, VA., 

Main Office, Nos. n and 13 High Street, ■ PORTSMOUTH, VA. 



DISTILLERS OF 



Arlington Pure Rye and Cameron Springs Whiskey 

AND RYE MALT GIN. 



ALSO 



RECTIFIERS AND WHOLESALE DEALERS IN 

Foreign and Domestic Wines and Liquors. 

PROMPT ATTENTION GIVEN TO ALL ORDERS. 



B. F. HOWELL, 

Dealer in Furniture, Carpets, Dry-Goods, Notions, Clothing, Trunks, Stoves, 
Hoots, Shoes, Glass, Crockery and Tinware. 

Cor. High & Washington Streets, Portsmouth, Va. 



Carrying the line of goods that I do, enables me to beat all competition. 
The Cheapest Goods in this Section. Goods sold on installments. 



JNO. N. HART. WM. F. HART. 

JNO. N. HART & BRO., 

Lumber, Shingles and Laths, 

Cor. High and Chestnut Streets, 

Adjoining Godwin's Factory. Portsmouth, Va. 



DEALER IN IMPORTED AND DOMESTIC 

Canned Goods & Groceries 

508 CRAWFORD STREET, 

PORTSMOUTH, _____ VIRGINIA. 

JOS. F\ WEEAVEERL 

DEALER IN 

DRUGS, MEDICINES, 

Q_\£n\ica_5 ; _?at^i\t _V\£&ic_i\£ ; i^^rflirr\^ry 

Fancy and Toilet Articles, 

518 SOUTH STREET, PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

Prescriptions Carefully Compounded. 

NIEMEYER & CO,, 

115 & 117 HIGH ST., PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

l,Li_'e, Cement ad Building Material, 

AND COMMISSION MERCHANTS. 
CITY STOVE HOUSE. 

ALEXRDER & P0WELL, 

DEALERS IN 

Cooking & Heating Stoves 

Ranges, &c, Tinware and House Furnishing; Goods, 

Gas Fitting and Plumbing. 

517 and 519 Crawford St., - - - - - Portsmouth, Ya. 
t@~Es1ablishedl86r>. 



W. C. NASH, 



-DEALER IN- 



Dry Goods and Notions, 

ChQ/KKS, CASSfJ46^£$ t OlkCkOTJJS, 
MATTINGS, LADIES' UNDERWEAR, &c 

Kirn Building, 229 High St., Portsmouth, Va. 

OWEHS BROS., 

Wholesale .\ Fancy .'. Grocers 

119 and 121 HIGH STEEET, PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

- — DEALERS IN 

Fruits, Vegetables, Candies, Cakes, Crackers, 
Cigars, Tobacco, &c. 

Agents for Price & Lucas' Cicler and Vinegar and Skillman's Fancy Cakes. 

WILLIAM H. STEWART, 

ATTORNEY AT LAW. 

COMMISSIONER IN CHANCERY 

For the Court of Hustings for the City of Portsmouth and for 
the Circuit Court of the County of Norfolk. 

Office, No. 407 Court Street. Residence, No. 517 North Street. 

W. B. JOHNSON, 

FuneralDirtector 1 and EmMiM 

Office, ----- 502 County Street. 

Residence, - - - 700 County Street. 

PORTSMOUTH, - - - VIRGINIA. 



The Bank of Portsmouth, 

PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

ORGANIZED l="EB. 9TH, 1867. 

The Oldest Bank in Portsmouth or Norfolk. 

Capital paid in, $100,000; surplus and undivided profits, $31,500. 
LEGH R. WATTS, President; J. L. BILISOLY, Cashier. 

DIRECTORS. 

Legh R. Watts, President, General Counsel Seaboard Air Line. 
O. V. Smith, Vice Pres't., Traffic Manager Seaboard Air Line. 
John M. Robinson, President Seaboard Air Line, Old Do- 
minion Steamship Co., Bay Line, etc., etc. 
John H. Hume, of R. G. Hume & Bro. 
W. V. H. Williams, Secretary and Treas. of Portsmouth Ins. Co. 
E. N. Wilcox, of Hume & Bro. 
Thomas Scott, Furniture Dealer. 

Edward Mahoney, Retired Capitalist. 
Geo. L. Neville, Contractor. 

CORRESPONDENTS. 
Chicago, Continental National Bank; Boston, National Revere Bank; New 
York, Importers and Traders National Bank; Richmond, State Bank of 
Virginia; Baltimore, Merchants' National Bank; Washington, National 
Metropolitan Bank ; Philadelphia, First National Bank, Independence Na- 
tional Bank, Corn Exchange National Bank. 

Our connections North, East, West and in Virginia and North Carolina 
enable us to offer the best facilities for collections, which we make at reason- 
able rates. 

John T. Griffin, President. | J. H. Toomer, Cashier. 

CITY DEPOSITARY. 

iV\^r^l\ai\t5 ai\^^arn\^r5^ai\k 

PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Yirginia. Com- 
menced business December 1st, 1885. 

Capital Stock, $51,500 ; Surplus and undivided profits, $35,000. 

Transacts a general banking business. Accounts of farmers, 
merchants and others solicited. 

W. V. H. Williams, Secretary. | O. V. Smith, President. 

^ort5n\olit]\ Ii\5lirai\^ Qo., 

INCORPORATED 1852.1 

The Only Home and the Oldest Fire Insurance Of 
flee in Eastern Virginia. 

Represents the Liverpool and London and Globe, Imperial, of 
London ; Mutual Life, of New York ; Travelers, of Hartford. 
The Leading Life and Accident Companies of the World. 
Union Agency for sale of Railroad and Steamboat Tickets. 
Office: Company's Building-, 217 High St., - - - - Portsmouth, Va, 



R. C. HU7VTE St BRO., 

224 High Street, Portsmouth. 

BOOKS, .'. STATIONERY. 

SCHOOL SUPPLIES OF ALL KINDS. 
State Agency Weber, Wheelock Pianos, 

Wilcox & White, Needham Organs 



JOHN FR. NEELY. 

(Successor to R. J. Neely & Co.) 
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IN 

DOORS, SASH, BLINDS, 

Mouldings, Brackets. Wood and Slate Mantles, 
Paints, Oils, Varnish, and Builders' Hard- 
ware, White Pine, Walnut, Ash and 
Oak Lumber, Hot-bed Sash, &c. 
Cor. Queen and Water Sis., - - PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

JOHN C. EMMERSON, 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IN 

LTOBEB, SHINGLES and LATHS, 

White Pine and Poplar a Specialty. 

^STEAMBOATS SUPPLIED WITH WATERS 

MAIN OFFICE, S. W. COR. LONDON & WATER STREETS, 

PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA. 

THOMAS SCOTT. 

317 HIGH STREET, PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

*Ti|e Oldest furniture I^ou^e 

IN EASTERN VIRGINIA. 

Beautiful Lines of Furniture, Carpets, Mattings, Oilcloths, 
Rugs, Mattresses, &c, always in stock. 
Will be pleased to wait on his friends. 



J. S. CRAWFORD, 

Furniture, Carpets, &c., 

Desks, Pictures, Oil Cloth and Matting, Feathers, Springs, 

Mattresses and Pillows, Lace Curtains, Portiers and Wall Paper. 

Country Orders Solicited. Northern Prices Duplicated. 

Largest Furniture and Carpet House in the City. 

Crawford Building, 221, 223 High Street, 

PORTSMOUTH, VA. 

G. M. REYNOLDS & CO., 

Insurance, Real Estate & Rental Agents, 

AUCTIONEERS. 

335 and 337 High Street, PORTSMOUTH, VA. 



ESTABLISHED IN 1881, 



1a£. J. BRENT, 

(^^i\^ral Contractor ai\& feliilA^r, 
1309 and 1311 GREEN STREET. 



Improved Facilities for Conducting the Business in all its Branches. 
Estimates furnished on application. 
All work promptly attended to. 

ti. B. WILKINS, 

) DEALER IN ( 

^iCOKL St WOO D.i* 

1213 Washington St., Portsmouth, Va. 

Has always on hand a full stock of First Class Pine and Hard 
Wood, also the Best Grades of Hard and Soft Coal. 
Delivered to any part of city or county. 



